Delaware PotalDelaware CodePrevious PageNext PageHome Page

§ 2801.

TITLE 16

Health and Safety

Regulatory Provisions Concerning Public Health

CHAPTER 28. SPERM BANK AND TISSUE BANK REGISTRY

§ 2801. Establishment of registry; testing of donors; penalties.

(a) The Department of Health and Social Services shall establish a registry of all sperm banks and tissue banks operating in this State. All sperm banks and tissue banks operating in this State shall register with the Department of Health and Social Services by May 1 of each year. Any person, hospital, clinic, corporation, partnership or other legal entity which operates a sperm bank or tissue bank in this State and fails to register with the Department of Health and Social Services pursuant to this section shall be subject to a fine of $5,000.

(b) All donors of semen for purposes of artificial insemination, or donors of corneas, bones, organs or other human tissue for the purpose of injecting, transfusing or transplanting any of them in the human body, shall be tested for evidence of exposure to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and any other identified causative agent of Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) at the time of or after the donation, but prior to the semen, corneas, bones, organs or other human tissue being made available for such use. However, when in the opinion of the attending physician the life of a recipient of a bone, organ or other human tissue donation would be jeopardized by delays caused by testing for evidence for exposure to HIV and any other causative agent of AIDS, testing shall not be required prior to the life-saving measures.

(c) No person may intentionally, knowingly, recklessly or negligently use the semen, corneas, bones, organs or other human tissue of a donor unless the requirements of subsection (b) of this section have been met. No person may knowingly, recklessly or intentionally use the semen, corneas, bones, organs or other human tissue of a donor who has tested positive for exposure to HIV or any other identified causative agent of AIDS. Violation of this subsection shall be a class E felony.

(d) For the purposes of this section, "tissue bank" means any facility or program that is involved in procuring, furnishing, donating, processing or distributing corneas, bones, organs or other human tissue for the purpose of injecting, transfusing or transplanting any of them in the human body. (66 Del. Laws, c. 335, § 1; 70 Del. Laws, c. 147, §§ 11, 12.)

NOTICE: The Delaware Code appearing on this site was prepared by the Division of Research of Legislative Council of the General Assembly with the assistance of the Government Information Center, under the supervision of the Delaware Code Revisors and the editorial staff of LexisNexis, includes all acts up to and including 76 Del. Laws, c. 246, effective June 19, 2008.

DISCLAIMER: Please Note: With respect to the Delaware Code documents available from this site or server, neither the State of Delaware nor any of its employees, makes any warranty, express or implied, including the warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed, or represents that its use would not infringe privately-owned rights. This information is provided for informational purposes only. Please seek legal counsel for help on interpretation of individual statutes.