Coroner pledges to examine policy on organ retention

Family raised concerns over wording of consent forms for hospital postmortems

A coroner is to examine the wording of family consent forms for hospital postmortems in relation to the retention of organs.

Family members of Teresa Ann Burke, a mother of eight from Cappincur, Tullamore, Co Offaly raised the issue at an inquest into her death.

The 77-year-old died following an operation at St Vincent’s Hospital but her husband objected to an autopsy because there was no guarantee all organs would be returned.

The inquest heard that the wording of postmortem consent forms differs in individual hospitals and the coroner Dr Myra Cullinane said she would investigate the matter.

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Mrs Burke died of sepsis due to complications arising out of keyhole surgery to remove gallstones. She suffered a tear in the small intestine during surgery at St Vincent’s Hospital in Dublin.

She developed an inter-abdominal leak and went on to develop sepsis, the inquest heard. The coroner returned a verdict of medical misadventure.

Dublin Coroner’s Court heard that the wording of the postmortem consent form presented a problem for the family, particularly to the woman’s husband.

The woman's son Pascal Burke said his father could not agree to a postmortem examination unless he was "100 per cent sure all organs would be returned".

At the inquest into their mother’s death, the family asked for clarification on the matter to ease distress for others in a similar situation.

“It was extremely important to him that all organs be returned and he did not want to take the risk that they wouldn’t be,” Mr Burke said.

Coroner Dr Myra Cullinane said it would be extremely rare that any organ would be retained.

Dr Cullinane said the only organ that would ever be retained following postmortem is the brain.

The idea of postmortem is difficult for Irish people, culturally, the coroner said. “It’s a very sensitive time and it can be difficult for families to take things in when they are in a state of acute bereavement. Culturally, postmortems present a difficulty for us as a society,” the coroner said.

The cause of death was severe sepsis resulting from a duodenal perforation that occurred at a time of elective laparoscopic cholecystectomy, according to a medical report prepared by consultant surgeon Justin Geoghegan.

Mrs Burke developed an inter-abdominal leak post operation and went on to develop sepsis. She died at St Vincent’s Hospital on October 4th 2015.

“I will look into the documentation you refer to because one does want to minimise the distress to families in this situation,” Dr Cullinane said.