(1) The availability of scientific knowledge, skills, and materials for the transplantation, injection, transfusion, or transfer of human tissue, organs, blood, or components thereof is important to the health and welfare of the people of this state. Equally important is the duty of those performing such service or providing such materials to exercise due care under the attending circumstances to the end that those receiving health care will benefit and adverse results therefrom will be minimized by the use of available and proven scientific safeguards. The imposition of legal liability without fault upon the persons and organizations engaged in such scientific procedures may inhibit the exercise of sound medical judgment and restrict the availability of important scientific knowledge, skills, and materials. It is, therefore, the public policy of this state to promote the health and welfare of the people by emphasizing the importance of exercising due care, and by limiting the legal liability arising out of such scientific procedures to instances of negligence or willful misconduct.
The donation, whether for or without valuable consideration, the acquisition, preparation, transplantation, injection, or transfusion of any human tissue, organ, blood, or component thereof for or to a human being is the performance of a medical service and does not, in any way, constitute a sale. No physician, surgeon, hospital, blood bank, tissue bank, or other person or entity who donates, obtains, prepares, transplants, injects, transfuses, or otherwise transfers, or who assists or participates in donating, obtaining, preparing, transplanting, injecting, transfusing, or transferring any tissue, organ, blood, or component thereof from one or more human beings, living or dead, to another living human being for the purpose of therapy or transplantation needed by him for his health or welfare shall be liable for any damages of any kind or description directly or indirectly caused by or resulting from any such activity; except that each such person or entity remains liable for his or its own negligence or willful misconduct.
Any provision of the law to the contrary notwithstanding, any minor who has reachedthe age of eighteen years may give consent to the donation of his or her blood, organs, or tissue and to the penetration of tissue which is necessary to accomplish such donation. Such consent shall not be subject to disaffirmance because of minority. The consent of the parent, parents, or legal guardian of such a minor shall not be necessary in order to authorize such donation of blood, organs, or tissue and penetration of tissue.
Any provision of the law to the contrary notwithstanding, a minor who is at leastsixteen years of age but is less than eighteen years of age may give consent to the donation of his or her blood and to the penetration of tissue that is necessary to accomplish the donation, so long as the minor's parent or legal guardian consents to authorize the donation of the minor's blood and the penetration of tissue. A minor's consent shall not be subject to disaffirmance because of minority.
Source: L. 71: p. 491, § 1. C.R.S. 1963: § 41-2-11. L. 2000: (3) amended, p. 730, § 7, effective July 1. L. 2009: (4) added, (HB 09-1023), ch. 27, p. 117, § 1, effective August 5.
Cross references: For additional authority, see the "Uniform Anatomical Gift Act", parts 2 and 3 of article 19 of title 15; for the donation of human tissue, organ, or blood or component thereof under the uniform commercial code, see § 4-2-102.