New York court rules examiners can keep organs without notifying family

An appeals court made the ruling on Wednesday, prompted by the case of a Staten Island forensic pathologist who kept the brain of a 17-year-old car crash victim

New York medical examiners can keep organs without notifying family members when bodies are released, a New York appeals court ruled on Wednesday.

The decision divided the seven-member court 5-2, after a Staten Island forensic pathologist kept the brain of a 17-year-old car crash victim, only for it to be discovered by a classmate on a field trip. The appeals court justices all wanted the state legislature to decide the matter.