Andhra Pradesh Corneal Grafting Act, 1963

(1) This Act may be called the Andhra Pradesh Corneal Grafting Act, 1963. (2) It extends to the whole of the State of Andhra Pradesh. (3) It shall come into force on such date and in such area as the State Government may, by notification in the Andhra Pradesh Gazette, appoint, and they may appoint different dates for different areas.

In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,- (a) "approved institution" means a hospital or a medical or teaching institution for therapeutic purposes, approved by the State Government for the purposes of this Act; (b) "near relative" means any of the following surviving relatives of the deceased, namely, spouse, parent, son, daughter, brother or sister. (c) "registered medical practitioner" means a person practising the allopathic system of medicine or any other modern scientific system of medicine, who is borne on the rolls of the register maintained under the law relating to the registration of medical practitioners for the time being in force in India and has undergone such training as may be specified by the State Government in this behalf and is working in an approved institution; and includes any eye specialist notified by the State Government in the Andhra Pradesh Gazette as a registered medical practitioner for the purposes of this Act.

(1) (a) If, at any time, any person has expressed a request in writing that his eyes be used for therapeutic purposes after his death, the person lawfully in possession of his body after his death shall, unless such request had been subsequently withdrawn in writing, allow the removal of the eyes from the body for those purposes. (b) Where any such request has been expressed orally in the presence of two or more witnesses during his last illness, the person lawfully in possession of the body of the deceased may, unless he has reason to believe that the request was subsequently withdrawn, allow the removal of the eyes from the body for the purposes aforesaid. (2) Without prejudice to the provisions of subsection (1), the person lawfully in possession of the body of a deceased may allow the removal of the eyes from the body for the purposes aforesaid, unless that person has reason to believe- (a) that the deceased had expressed an objection to his eyes being so dealt with after his death, and had not withdrawn such objection; or (b) that any near relative of the deceased objects to the deceased’s eyes being so dealt with. (3) An authority given under the provision of this Act in respect of any deceased shall be sufficient warrant for the removal of the eyes from the body of the deceased and their use for the purposes aforesaid; but no such removal shall be effected except by a registered medical practitioner who shall satisfy himself by a personal examination of the body that life is extinct.

The authority for the removal of eyes shall not be given under this Act if the person empowered to give such authority has reason to believe that an inquest may be required to be held on the body of the deceased in accordance with the provisions of any law for the time being in force in that behalf.

No authority for the removal of eyes shall be given under this Act in respect of the body of a deceased by a person entrusted by another person with the body of the deceased for the purposes only of its interment or cremation.

In the case of a body of the deceased which is lying in an approved institution, the person having the control or management of such institution, or an officer or person designated by him in this behalf, may authorise in writing the removal of the eyes from the body of the deceased; unless any near relative of the deceased who is present in the institution at the time of the death or who is available in the city, town or village, where the institution is situated, objects, within a period of two hours immediately after the death, for such removal.

(1) In the case of a dead body lying in a hospital or prison and not claimed by any of the near relatives of the deceased person, the authority for the removal of the eyes from the dead body which so remains unclaimed may be given, subject to the provisions of sub-section(2), in the prescribed form, by the person-in-charge, for the time being of the management or control of the hospital or prison or by an employee of such hospital or prison, authorised in this behalf by the person-in-charge of the management or control thereof. (2) The authority referred to in sub-section(1) shall not be given except after the expiry of- (i) half-an-hour from the time of death of the concerned person in cases where no facility for cold storage of the dead body is available in the hospital or prison; or (ii) two hours from the time of the death of the concerned person, in cases where facility for cold storage of the dead body is available in the hospital or prison. (3) No authority shall be given under sub-section(1), if the person empowered to give such authority has reason to believe that any near relative of the deceased is likely to claim the dead body eventhough such near relative has not come forward to claim the body of the deceased within the time specified in clause (i) or, as the case may be clause (ii) of sub-section (2). Explanation:- For the purposes of this section “hospital” includes a nursing home, medical or teaching institution for therapeutic purposes or other like institution.

Where the body of a person has been sent for post-mortem examination. (a) for a medico-legal purposes by reason of the death of such person having been caused by accident or any other unnatural cause; or (b) for pathological purposes, the person competent under this Act to give authority for the removal of the eyes from such dead body may, if he has reason to believe that the eyes will not be required for the purposes for which such body has been sent for post-mortem examination, authorise the removal for therapeutic purposes of the eyes of such deceased person provided that he is satisfied that the deceased person had not expressed, before his death, any objection to his eyes being used for therapeutic purposes after his death or, where he had granted an authority for the use of his eyes for therapeutic purposes after his death, such authority had not been revoked by him before his death.

After the removal of eyes from the body of the deceased person, the registered medical practitioner (Opthalmic) shall take such steps for the preservation of the eyes so removed as may be prescribed.

No suit, prosecution or other legal proceeding shall lie against any person for anything which is in good faith done or intended to be done under this Act.

An authority for the removal of eyes given under this Act shall, immediately after the death of the deceased, be sent to any eye specialist notified under clause (c) of section 2 or to the nearest Eye Bank or, where there is no such Eye Bank, to the nearest approved institution. The person having the control or management of the Eye Bank or the approved institution, as the case may be, or an officer or the person designated by him in this behalf or the said eye specialist shall, immediately on receipt of such authority, arrange for the removal of the eyes from the body of the deceased for use for the purposes of this Act.

(1) Nothing in this Act shall be construed as rendering unlawful any dealing with, or with any part of, the body of a deceased which would have been lawful if this Act had not been passed. (2) Any authority for the removal of eyes given in accordance with the provisions of this Act shall not be deemed to be a contravention of the provisions of section 297 of the Indian Penal Code.

(1) The Government may, by notification, make rules for carrying out all or any of the purposes of this Act. (2) In particular and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing power, such rules may provide for all or any of the following matters, namely:- (a) the form in which removal of eyes from un-claimed body may be authorised as required by section 6-A; (b) the preservation of removed eyes, as required by section 6-C; (c) any other matter which is required to be or may be prescribed. (3) Every rule made under this Act shall immediately after it is made, be laid before the Legislative Assembly of the State if it is in Session and if it is not in Session, in the Session immediately following, for a total period of fourteen days which may be comprised in one session, or in two successive Sessions and if before the expiration of the Session in which it is so laid or the Session immediately following, the Legislative Assembly agrees in making any modification in the rule or in the annulment of the rule, the rule shall, from the date on which the modification or annulment is notified, have effect only in such modified form, or shall stand annulled, as the case may be, so however, that any such modification or annulment shall be without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done under that rule.

AN ACT TO MAKE PROVISION WITH RESPECT TO THE USE OF EYES OF DECEASED PERSONS FOR THERAPEUTIC PURPOSES. Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Andhra Pradesh in the Fourteenth Year of the Republic of India as follows:-