Medical (Therapy, Education and Research) Bill

“deceased person” includes a still-born infant or foetus;

“Director” means the Director of Medical Services, Ministry of Health, Singapore and includes the Deputy Director of Medical Services in charge of the Hospitals Division of the Ministry of Health and also includes the Superintendent of a Government hospital authorised by the said Deputy Director of Medical Services in writing to act on his behalf;

“donor” means an individual who makes a gift of all or part of his body;

“part” in relation to a human body includes organs, tissues, eyes, bones, arteries, blood, other fluids and other portions of a human body.

Any of the persons specified in the Schedule to this Act, in order of priority stated, when persons in prior classes are not available at the time of death, and in the absence of actual notice of contrary indications by the deceased person, or actual notice of opposition of a member of the same class or a prior class, may give all or any part of the body of the deceased person for the purposes specified in section 7 of this Act.

The persons authorised by the provisions of subsection (1) of this section may make the gift after death or immediately before death.

The following persons may become donees of gifts of bodies or parts thereof for the purposes stated: —

The Minister may, by notification in the Gazette, declare a hospital, medical or dental school, college or university to be an approved hospital, medical or dental school, college or university for the purposes of this section.

A gift of all or part of the body of a deceased person may be made to a specified donee or without specifying a donee.

If the gift is made without specifying a donee, the Superintendent of the Government hospital in which the death of the deceased person has taken place or to which the body of the deceased person has been removed to may accept the gift as donee upon or following the death for the purposes of paragraph (a) or (b) of section 7 of this Act, as the case may be.

The donee may accept or reject the gift of a body or part thereof.

If the gift is of a part of the body, the donee upon death shall cause the part to be removed without unnecessary mutilation. After removal of the part, custody of the remainder of the body shall vest in the surviving spouse, next of kin or other person under obligation to dispose of the body.

Any person of sound mind and eighteen years of age or above may either in writing at any time or orally in the presence of two or more witnesses during his last illness authorise the post-mortem examination of his body for the purpose of establishing or confirming the cause of death or of investigating the existence or nature of abnormal conditions.

Such authority shall be effective upon the death of such person.

Any of the persons specified in the Schedule to this Act, in order of priority stated, when persons in prior classes are not available at the time of death, and in the absence of actual notice of contrary indications by the deceased person, or actual notice of opposition of a member of the same class or a prior class, may authorise the post-mortem examination of the body of the deceased person for the purpose of establishing or confirming the cause of death or of investigating the existence or nature of abnormal conditions.

The persons authorised by the provisions of subsection (1) of this section may give the authority after death or immediately before death.

Subject to the provisions of subsection (2) of this section, the removal and use of any part of a body in accordance with the provisions of section 3 or 4 of this Act, as the case may be, or the post-mortem examination of a body in accordance with the provisions of Part III of this Act, shall be lawful.

No such removal or post-mortem examination shall be effected except —