All public officers, agents, and servants, and all officers, agents, and servants of any and every county, city, township, borough, district, and other municipality, and of any and every almshouse, prison, morgue, hospital, or other municipality, or other public institution, and all other persons, having charge or control over dead human bodies required to be buried at the public expense, are hereby required to notify immediately the said board of distribution, or such person or persons as may, from time to time, be designated by said board or its duly authorized officer or agent, whenever any such body or bodies come to his or their possession, charge, or control; and shall, without fee or reward, deliver, within thirty-six hours after death, except those coroners' cases in which more time may be required, such body or bodies, and permit and suffer the said board and its agents to take and remove all such bodies to be used within the State for the advancement of medical science.

Such notice shall be given to the board of distribution in all cases, but no such body shall be delivered, if any relative by blood or marriage shall claim the body for burial, at the expense of such relative, within thirty-six hours after death, but the body shall be surrendered to said claimant for interment; nor shall any such body be delivered, if any friend, or any representative of a fraternal society of which deceased was a member, or a representative of any charitable organization, shall claim the said body for burial within thirty-six hours after death; said burial to be at the expense of such friend, fraternal society, or charitable organization; nor shall the body be delivered if said person was an honorably discharged soldier, sailor, or marine of the United States, or of the militia of the State of Pennsylvania; in which case said body shall be buried in accordance with the provisions of existing laws.

In case of the death of any person whose body is required to be buried at the public expense, and the duly authorized officer or agent of the board deems such body unfit for anatomical purposes, he shall notify in writing the county commissioners in counties of the first class and the executive officers of the county institution district in all other counties where such person died, and who shall direct some person to take charge of the body of such deceased indigent person, and cause it to be buried; and draw warrants upon the treasurer of their county for the payment of such expenses, which expenses shall not be more than fifty dollars in counties of the first class and second class, and not more than seventy-five dollars in all other counties on each body buried in accordance with the provisions of this act. Such warrants shall be made payable to the persons so authorized and directed, who shall have buried the bodies for which said warrants are to be drawn. No warrants for the payment of the expenses of the burial of any person whose body is required to be buried at the public expense shall be drawn or paid except upon the certificate of the duly authorized officer or agent of the board, to the effect that such body is unfit for anatomical purposes or that the body is that of a soldier, sailor, or marine of the United States or of the militia of the State of Pennsylvania required to be buried at the public expense, and that the provisions of this act have been complied with.

Wherever, through the failure of any person to notify and deliver the body of a deceased indigent as required by this act, such body shall become unfit for anatomical purposes, and is so certified by the duly authorized officer or agent of said board of distribution, such body shall be buried at the expense of the person so failing to notify and deliver such body.