Related documents
- Is amended by Health Act, 1988
Anatomical Donations and Post-Mortem Examinations Ordinance, 1977
Ordinance 12 of 1977
- Published in Official Gazette 3633 on 17 June 1977
- Assented to on 15 June 1977
- Commenced on 17 June 1977
- [This is the version of this document from 30 December 1988 and includes any amendments published up to 3 January 2025.]
- [Amended by Health Act, 1988 (Act 21 of 1988) on 30 December 1988]
1. Definitions
In this Ordinance, unless the context otherwise indicates -“authorised institution” means an institution authorised by the Executive Committee to receive, acquire, preserve or use the bodies of deceased persons for therapeutic or scientific purposes or to receive, acquire, preserve, use or issue any tissue for such purposes, or to perform post-mortem examination of the bodies of deceased persons for any of the purposes stated in section 2(1);“dentist” means a person registered as a dentist under the Medical, Dental and Supplementary Health Service Professions Act, 1974 (Act 56 of 1974);[Dentists are now registered under the Medical and Dental Act 10 of 2004.]“Executive Committee” means the Administrator-in-Executive-Committee referred to in section 6 of the South West Africa Constitution Act, 1968 (Act 39 of 1968);[The South-West Africa Constitution Act 39 of 1968 was repealed by Article 147 of the Namibian Constitution.]“gonad” means the human tissue or group of germinal cells essential for the reproduction of the species;“hospital” means any institution established as a hospital or registered as such under the Hospitals Ordinance, 1972 (Ordinance 14 of 1972);[The Hospitals Ordinance 14 of 1972 has been replaced by the Hospitals and Health Facilities Act 36 of 1994.]“medical practioner” means a person registered as a medical practitioner under the Medical, Dental and Supplementary Health Service Professions Act, 1974 (Act 56 of 1974);[The word “practitioner” is misspelt in the Official Gazette, as reproduced above. Medical practitioners are now registered under the Medical and Dental Act 10 of 2004.]“mortuary” means any mortuary established as such;“regulation” means a regulation made and in force under this Ordinance;“Territory” means the Territory of South West Africa;“this Ordinance” includes any regulation;“tissue” means any human tissue, including any flesh, organ, bone, body fluid or tissue or product derived from it.2. Donations of human bodies or human tissue for therapeutic or scientific purposes
3. Removal of tissue from bodies of certain deceased persons
4. Post-mortem examinations of bodies of certain deceased persons
Subject to the authorisation referred to in section 5, a post-mortem examination of the body of a deceased person may be performed by a medical practitioner before its burial or cremation where such examination is necessary for the purpose of determining more precisely the cause of death or for any specified scientific purpose.5. Authorisation by magistrate or by specified medical practitioner required for removal of tissue or for post-mortem examination
6. Reports on authorisations for removal of tissue and on removals of eye tissue
Any person who, in terms of section 5, gives ar authorisation for the removal of any specified tissue or removes any eye tissue, from the body of a person who has died, shall, within twenty-one days after the death of the person concerned, transmit by registered mail as a confidential document to the Secretary for South West Africa a report of such authorisation or removal together with a written statement in which the following particulars shall be set forth:[The word “an” is misspelt as “ar” in the Official Gazette, as reproduced above.]7. Removal of tissue at certain post-mortem examinations
8. Removal of tissue from bodies or living persons for therapeutic or scientific purposes
9. Rights concerning tissue
Subject to the provisions of sections 11 and 15 and the regulations any person to whom any body or any tissue is donated in terms of section 2 or 7 or who acquires any tissue in terms of section 3 or 8 shall, upon delivery of such tissue to him by way of use or otherwise, as the case may be, be vested with the exclusive rights over such tissue.10. Exclusion of civil and criminal liability in respect of bona fide act of medical practitioner, dentist or magistrate
11. Sale of tissue prohibited
12. Acquisition, preservation, use and issue of tissue by authorised institutions
13. Savings
Nothing in this Ordinance contained shall render unlawful -14. Regulations
15. Publication of identity of donor or recipient of body or tissue prohibited
16. Penalties
17. Repeal of Ordinance
The Post-Mortem Examination and Removal of Human Tissues Ordinance, 1956 (Ordinance 21 of 1956) is hereby repealed.18. Short title
This Ordinance shall be called the Anatomical Donations and Post-Mortem Examinations Ordinance, 1977.[Section 1(1)(c) of the Health Act 21 of 1988, which brought this Ordinance into force in any part of South West Africa where it was not already in force, provides the following transitional provision:][“Every regulation promulgated under a law referred to in paragraph (a) [which includes this Ordinance], and every notice, mandate, order, authorisation, declaration, prohibition, licence, appointment, designation, certificate, permission, consent, approval, exemption, donation, rule or registration promulgated, issued, granted, made or done, in terms of a provision of a law referred to in paragraph (a) [which includes this Ordinance] or (b), and that is in force on the day preceeding [sic] the date of the coming into operation of this Act [Act 21 of 1988], shall, in conjunction with the law in terms of which it has been promulgated, issued, granted, made or done, except when it will clearly be unsuitable because prerequisites specified by law have not been complied with in respect of a part of the territory of South West Africa to which it is made applicable by this Act [Act 21 of 1988], or for another reason, or only concerns a particular place, area, person or group of persons, be of force and effect in every part of the territory of South West Africa where on the day preceding the date of the coming into operation of this Act [Act 21 of 1988] it is not already of force and effect.”][Section 1(2) of Act 21 of 1988 provides the following transitional provision:][“In the application of the laws referred to in subsection (1)(a) or (b) [which include this Ordinance], and of the regulations, notices, mandates, orders, authorisations, declarations, prohibitions, licences, appointments, designations, certificates, permission, consent, approval, exemptions, donations, rules or registration referred to in subsection (1)(c), in a part of the territory of South West Africa where on the day preceding the date of the coming into operation of this Act [Act 21 of 1988] they were not of force and effect, every word or expression therein to which, in the application thereof in a part of the territory of South West Africa excluding the Rehoboth Gebiet where they were indeed of force and effect on the said day, a particular interpretation was given in terms of legal provision or otherwise, shall be given the same interpretation, according to whether the central authority or a representative authority is entrusted with the application thereof.”]History of this document
30 December 1988 this version
Amended by
Health Act, 1988
17 June 1977
Commenced
15 June 1977
Assented to
Cited documents 3
Act 3
1. | Mental Health Act, 1973 | 99 citations |
2. | Births, Marriages and Deaths Registration Act, 1963 | 44 citations |
3. | Medical, Dental and Supplementary Health Service Professions Act, 1974 | 14 citations |