Georgia General Assembly
Unannotated Code

44-5-151.
(a) Any term used in this Code section and defined in Code Section 31-22-9.1 shall have the meaning provided for that term in Code Section 31-22-9.1.
(b) Each health care facility, health care provider, blood bank, tissue bank, sperm bank, or other similar legal entity which procures, processes, distributes, or uses any human body part determined by the Department of Human Resources to have a reasonable probability of transmitting HIV shall subject or have subjected such part, or the donor of such part, to an HIV test prior to making that body part available for use in the body of another human being. Any such body part thus determined to be infected with HIV and any body part the donor of which has thus been determined to be infected with HIV shall not be used in the body of another human being but shall be safely and promptly disposed of or made available for medical research, as provided in the regulations of the Department of Human Resources.
(c) When any body part or the donor thereof has been determined to be infected with HIV pursuant to subsection (b) of this Code section, the person or legal entity which ordered the HIV test of the body part or donor thereof shall:
(1) If the donor is alive and the records of that person or legal entity reflect where the donor can be located, provide personal and confidential notification of such determination to the donor; or
(2) If the donor is deceased, provide confidential notification of such determination to any known physician of the donor, which physician shall have the sole discretion whether the person who executed the gift of the body part or any person at risk of being infected with HIV by the donor should be notified by that physician of such determination.
(d) In a medical emergency constituting a serious threat to the life of a potential recipient of blood, if blood that has been subjected to the HIV test required under subsection (b) of this Code section is not available, the testing otherwise required under subsection (b) of this Code section shall not be required regarding such blood.
(e) Any person or legal entity which violates subsection (b) of this Code section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.