21 NCAC 34C .0207         REMOVAL OF PACEMAKERS OR OTHER IMPLANTED DEVICES; AUTOPSIED REMAINS; COMMUNICABLE DISEASES

(a)  No person other than an individual who is licensed by the Board as either an embalmer or funeral service licensee shall remove a pacemaker, defibrillator, or any other implanted device or material that must be removed from human remains prior to cremation or hydrolysis as set forth in G.S. 90-210.129(d). Any such device or material that must be removed pursuant to G.S. 90-210.129(d) shall be removed in accordance with the guidelines set by the manufacturer thereof.

(b)  No person other than an individual who is licensed by the Board as either an embalmer or funeral service licensee shall handle, treat, or otherwise prepare for cremation or hydrolysis the viscera removed from human remains as the result of an autopsy.

(c)  An hydrolysis licensee shall not remove from the outer case required by G.S. 130A-395(b) and 10A NCAC 41A .0212, or to hydrolyze, any decedent who is known or suspected to have been infected with the plague, smallpox, COVID-19, or severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), without first obtaining the written consent of the local health director.

History Note:        Authority G.S. 90-210.125; 90-210.129; 90-210.134; 90-210.136(d),(h);

Temporary Adoption Eff. May 24, 2019;

Temporary Adoption Expired Eff. March 13, 2020;

Readopted Eff. January 1, 2021.