TITLE 31 HEALTH

Section 7. Regulation and Construction of Hospitals and Other Health Care Facilities, 31-7-1 through 31-7-412.

ARTICLE 1 REGULATION OF HOSPITALS AND RELATED INSTITUTIONS

31-7-14. Blood supplies; blood donor storage programs.

1. When any person is admitted to a medical facility for surgical or medical treatment which has been scheduled in advance, neither the medical facility nor any licensed medical practitioner shall prohibit such person from providing a blood donor or donors to furnish blood which may be needed in such surgery or medical treatment, provided that:
   1. The blood donation will not be detrimental to the donor or the recipient of such blood or any of its components; and
   2. The donation is made not earlier than ten working days before the date of the anticipated transfusion and not later than the evening of the fourth full working day before the date of the anticipated transfusion.
2. If the person receiving surgical or other medical treatment requires more blood than is furnished by the provided donor or donors, then the medical facility may utilize its regular sources to supply the necessary amount. If less blood than the amount that is furnished by the provided donor or donors is used in the surgery or medical treatment, then the excess blood may be retained by the medical facility or turned over to a community blood bank.
3. This Code section shall not apply to any emergency surgical or medical treatment.
4. This Code section shall not apply to any medical facility which does not maintain a system for the collection, processing, and storage of blood and its component parts or to any medical facility which allows through a community blood bank a person to provide a blood donor or donors to furnish blood which may be needed in the person's surgery or medical treatment.
5. This Code section shall not apply to any person who is under the jurisdiction of the Department of Corrections.
6. A medical facility or licensed medical practitioner providing health care to a person who utilizes the provisions of this Code section shall not be liable in damages for injury or death occurring during or as a result of the medical or surgical treatment if the injury or death results from use of the blood supplied by the donors selected by the patient, unless that facility or practitioner is grossly negligent with regard to such use.
7. A medical facility or group of medical facilities may organize and operate short-term blood donor storage programs for the purpose of perpetuating a group of donors of a common blood type for emergency and planned surgical needs.

(Code 1981, §31-7-14, enacted by Ga. L. 1987, p. 1091, § 1.)