§453-15  Who shall give consent to a
postmortem examination.  A pathologist or any licensed physician,
osteopathic physician, or surgeon may conduct a postmortem examination when
written consent thereto is given by whoever of the following assumes custody of
the body for purposes of burial:  father, mother, husband, wife, reciprocal
beneficiary, child, guardian, next of kin, or, in the absence of any of the
foregoing, a friend or person, including a governmental agency, charged by law
with the responsibility for the burial.  If two or more persons assume custody
of the body, the consent of one of them is sufficient.  The consent shall
include the consent to the retention by the pathologist or licensed physician,
osteopathic physician, or surgeon who conducts the postmortem examination of
tissues, including fetal material, of the body removed at the time of the
postmortem examination to be used for necessary or advisable scientific
investigation, including research, teaching, and therapeutic purposes. [L 1957,
c 309, §1; Supp, §64-14; am L 1967, c 188, §1; HRS §453-15; am L 1997, c 383,
§62; am L 2008, c 5, §17]