from THE NEW YORK LAW JOURNAL, January 22, 2001
On October 4, 2000, Governor Pataki signed into law a bill (A11207) permitting a health care proxy to include the principal’s wishes regarding organ and tissue donation.
As we know, the Health Care Proxy Law found in New York Public Health Law § 2981 allows an individual to appoint a health care agent to make any and all health care decisions, including those regarding life sustaining treatment, in the event that the individual can no longer make such decisions for him or herself. However, prior to the recent change in the law, an individual could only indicate his or her desire to make a gift of all or part of the body in one of the following ways: