Northern Territory Consolidated Acts Northern Territory Consolidated Acts18. Authority to remove tissue where body of deceased at a hospital
(1) The person in charge of a hospital may, subject to and in accordance with this Part, by instrument in writing, authorize the removal of tissue from the body of a person who has died in the hospital or whose body has been brought into the hospital -
(a) for the purpose of the transplantation of the tissue to the body of a living person; or
(b) for use of the tissue for other therapeutic purposes or for medical or scientific purposes.
(2) Where the person in charge of a hospital, after making such inquiries as are reasonable in the circumstances, has reason to believe that the deceased person had, during his lifetime, expressed the wish for, or consented to, the removal after his death of tissue from his body for the purpose referred to in subsection (1)(a) or for a use referred to in subsection (1)(b), or both, and had not withdrawn the wish or revoked the consent, the person in charge of the hospital may authorize under subsection (1) the removal of tissue from the body of the deceased person for that purpose or use, or both, as the case may be.
(3) Where the person in charge of a hospital, after making such inquiries as are reasonable in the circumstances, has no reason to believe that the deceased person during his lifetime -
(a) had expressed the wish for, or consented to, the removal after his death of tissue from his body for the purpose referred to in subsection (1)(a) or a use referred to in subsection (1)(b); or
(b) had expressed an objection to the removal after his death of tissue from his body for such a purpose or use,
and, after making such further inquiries as are reasonable in the circumstances, the person in charge of the hospital -
(c) has no reason to believe that the senior available next of kin of the deceased person has an objection to the removal of tissue from the body of the deceased person; or
(d) is unable to ascertain the existence or the whereabouts or is unable to ascertain whether any of the next of kin of the deceased person has an objection to the removal of tissue from the body of the deceased person,
the person in charge of the hospital may authorize under subsection (1) the removal of tissue from the body of the deceased person for the purpose referred to in subsection (1)(a) or a use referred to in subsection (1)(b).
(4) The senior available next of kin of a person may make it known to the person in charge of a hospital at any time when the first-mentioned person is unconscious before death that he has no objection to the removal after the death of that person, of tissue from the body of that person for the purpose referred to in subsection (1)(a) or a use referred to in subsection (1)(b), but the person in charge of the hospital shall not act on such an indication if that unconscious person recovers consciousness.
(5) Where there are 2 or more senior available next of kin, an objection by any one of those persons has effect for the purpose of this section notwithstanding any indication to the contrary by the other or any other of those persons.