You may be able to use this instead of a standard death certificate as acceptable evidence for banks, insurance companies and other institutions, but you should check with each institution that it meets their requirements.
If someone is a registered organ donor, but their death has to be reported to a coroner, the coroner and next of kin must give permission before organs can be donated. Where the coroner grants permission for donation, the post-mortem examination will be of limited scope. In general, the coroner will agree to requests for organ donation where possible, as organ donors save the lives of countless people each year.
Read more about body and organ donation in Ireland. In May , the Department of Health commissioned a report into post-mortem practice and procedures. The Madden Report looked at post-mortem practice in Ireland including organ retention in relation to children who were born alive but died aged under 12 between and If you have a question about this topic you can contact the Citizens Information Phone Service on 07 Monday to Friday, 9am to 8pm.
You can also contact your local Citizens Information Centre or Request a call back from an information officer. Information What is a post-mortem? Generally, if the person died from an unknown cause or an unnatural cause, such as an accident, the result of a crime, or while living in a state institution such as a gaol , it is likely that their death was reported to the Coroner and a Coronial post mortem was conducted.
If the doctor treating the person was able to tell you the cause of their death or the extent of disease and they asked a family member for consent to do the post mortem, it is likely that the person had a non-coronial post mortem. You should contact the hospital where the person died for more information.
Written consent is required from the person given when they are alive or their senior available next of kin after death. In some cultures arrangements around the death of a person may traditionally be performed by someone other than the senior available next of kin.
The Human Tissue Act allows a senior available next of kin to authorise another person a delegate , in writing, to exercise their functions. The delegate can give written consent for a non-coronial post mortem.
The post mortem or autopsy will be carried out as soon as possible after consent has been given, to minimise delays for funeral arrangements. If you wish to see the body prior to the post mortem, let the doctor know and arrangements will be made. You do not have to consent to the use of organs or tissue for these other purposes. The post mortem or autopsy will still be carried out if the senior available next of kin or their delegate does not consent to the use of organs or tissue for other purposes.
The post mortem or autopsy may be conducted by a pathologist or a medical student or specialist in training under the supervision of a pathologist. Assisting at a post mortem is an important part of ongoing education for medical students and specialists in training. There may be costs associated with the post mortem or autopsy examination if you request it. This should be discussed with your doctor or hospital representative before consent is given.
The pathologist may wish to retain one or more organs usually the brain or heart in order to test for signs of disease or injury that are not immediately apparent. Usually this will be discussed as part of seeking consent to conduct the post mortem or autopsy ; however the pathologist may not know until they have begun the post mortem that it would be of benefit to keep a particular organ. If the pathologist does retain organs, it is possible to ask that they are returned to the body before it is released for burial or cremation.
Our service, together with our colleagues at hospitals and mortuaries, works hard to allow this as soon as possible. These are our standard timescales:. In time-sensitive situations, such as the deaths of children or where tissue donation is planned, we will do our best to release the body well within these timescales, provided that the Coroner's legal requirements are satisfied.
Home Births, marriages, deaths and nationality Deaths, funerals and cemeteries Coroners When death occurs. You can ask a funeral director to pick up the body and organise the funeral or you can do it yourself:. You should try to do this as soon as possible, so you can be ready to pick up the person from the mortuary as soon as the coroner releases the body. This page was last updated: 30th September Skip to main content. What happens during a post mortem Breadcrumbs.
There is no cost to the family if a post mortem is carried out. Where the post mortem will be carried out A post mortem is usually carried out at the nearest hospital that has a mortuary and a pathologist. How long it takes The pathologist will try to do the post mortem as soon as possible — usually the next working day.
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