Sold at extremely high prices, a record $45,000 was paid for a single gallbladder (Barron 1991). To illustrate the avid market in this product, an Asian dealer in New York City was murdered in 1991 to obtain his profits from the sale of bear gallbladders.
In the absence of state law guidance, APA's Record Keeping Guidelines indicate that psychologists may consider maintaining full records for seven years after the last date of service or for three years after a minor patient reaches majority, whichever comes later.
The minimum period of medical record retention provided in any state law is three years, and many states have requirements of ten years. Social workers who provide services to children should be aware that record retention requirements often last until several years after the child reaches the age of majority.