S.C. Code Ann. § 17-5-290 – Identification, preservation and disposition of dead bodies

(A) After the postmortem examination, autopsy, or inquest has been completed, the dead body must be released to the person legally entitled to it for burial. If no person claims the body, the county medical examiner or his deputy shall notify the board created pursuant to Section 44-43-510. If that board does not accept the body, it must be turned over to the coroner of the county where death occurred for disposition as provided by law. If the deceased has an estate out of which burial expenses can be paid either in whole or in part, the estate must be taken for that purpose before an expense under this section is imposed upon a county.
(B) If the body cannot be identified through reasonable efforts, the coroner shall forward the body to the Medical University of South Carolina or other suitable facility for preservation. The body must be preserved for not less than thirty days, unless the body is identified within that time. If the body has not been identified at the end of that time, the Medical University may retain possession of the body for its use and benefit or return the body to the coroner of the county where death occurred for disposition as provided by law. A facility other than the Medical University utilized by the coroner for storage of an unidentified body may dispose of the body as provided by law or return the body to the coroner of the county where death occurred for disposition.
(C) If an unidentified body is preserved at the Medical University, the county is responsible for transporting the body to and from the Medical University; however, the county is not responsible for the cost of preserving the body at the Medical University. If an unidentified body is preserved at the Medical University, the Medical University must absorb the cost of preserving the body for not less than thirty days.