Supreme Court Declines Case Involving Harvested Body Organs

The Supreme Court refused Monday to block a lawsuit accusing the Los Angeles County Coroner's Office of wrongly removing the corneas of dead children without first getting permission. The coroner's office was sued by the parents of two boys whose corneas were harvested and sold to an eye bank for several hundred dollars in 1997. The parents' attorney has sought class-action status for the lawsuit, and said the class could include the families of up to 7,000 deceased. Controversy over the practice prompted the California Legislature to pass a law requiring consent for the harvesting.

An earlier state law had allowed the cornea takings without permission if coroners had no knowledge of objections. County attorneys told the Supreme Court that if the decision was not overturned, staff at hospitals and coroners' offices will be afraid to harvest tissue or organs because of lawsuits. "The lifesaving and life-enhancing benefits from organ and tissue donation will necessarily be jeopardized," attorney Cheryl A. Orr wrote in a brief. Bill Colovos, the attorney for the parents, said relatives of the deceased have a right to dispose of a body the way they want.

(AP Biscom)