[[{“value”:”According to a report from the Pentagon’s inside watchdog, the military’s medical examiner mishandled a large number of organs removed during autopsies.
The medical examiner reportedly removed organs, including people’s brains and hearts, without notifying family members.
In some cases, it was against the family’s wishes.
” For years, the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System, which conducts autopsies on service members and others who die under national jurisdiction, lacked regular procedures for handling and storing organs removed during autopsies, the Pentagon’s Inspector General found”, NBC News reports.
The military’s medical examiner retained hundreds of organs removed during autopsies — including people’s brains and hearts — often without notifying family members or, in some instances, against their wishes, according to a watchdog report. https ://t.co/pFaSiGLm8U
— NBC News ( @NBCNews ) March 23, 2024
Per NBC News:
A Department of Defense official confirmed on Friday that the military’s health examiner retained 553″ specimens” belonging to 433 people at its Dover Air Force Base morgue in Delaware. The official said the military is not constantly contacting those relatives but rather is asking people who suspect a loved one may be included in that tally to email the military to reclaim the remains.
” It’s largely in order to not retraumatize families”, the official added of the decision not to proactively inform families. ” Some of these are from many, many years ago”.
The Pentagon’s Inspector General warned that because the medical examiner did not keep full and accurate records for retained organs, officials may not be able to effectively answer families ‘ questions, which” could cause mental distress”.
The Armed Forces Medical Examiner System has mishandled a large number of organs it collected from autopsies in recent years, according to new findings by the Pentagon’s Inspector General. https: //t. co/s4HrME5yO8
— Stars and Stripes ( @starsandstripes ) March 20, 2024
Stars and Stripes added:
Defense Department officials failed to get future- of- kin instruction on how to dispose of organs for more than half of the 208 people who died that were included in the IG’s study.
The families of most of those people, 91 %, were not told AFMES had retained an organ, the report said.
When disposition instructions were obtained, DOD officials failed to follow them 41 % of the time, according to the report.
The system even failed to properly track organs that examiners retained during autopsies, meaning DOD officials may not be able to respond to requests by families for information on the status of those remains.
The IG warned this may” cause personal distress” for families who were missing the remains retained by AFMES, and who had plans to bury or dispose of them in another way.
The mismanagement was a result of the medical examiner system” never having obvious policies and procedures in place to track retention, transportation, storage or release of the retained organs”, the report said.
Read the whole report from the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General HERE.”}]] [[{“value”:”
According to a report by the Pentagon’s internal watchdog the military’s medical examiner mishandled a significant number of organs that were removed during autopsies.
The medical examiner removed organs including brains and heart without notifying the family members.
In some cases it was against family wishes.
NBC News reports that the Pentagon’s Inspector-General found that the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System (AFMES), which conducts autopsies of service members and other people who die under federal jurisdiction for years, lacked consistency in handling and storing the organs removed during autopsies.
A watchdog report revealed that the military’s medical examiner kept hundreds of organs from autopsies, including brains and heart, without informing family members or, sometimes, against their will. https://t.co/pFaSiGLm8U
— NBC News @NBCNews March 23, 2024
Per NBC News
A Department of Defense official confirmed Friday that the military’s Medical Examiner retained 553 “specimens”, belonging to 433 individuals, at its Dover Air Force Base Morgue in Delaware. The official said that the military does not actively contact these relatives, but instead asks people who suspect their loved ones may be included in this tally to send an email to the military to reclaim those remains.
The official explained that the decision to not inform families proactively was made to avoid retraumatizing them. “Some of these dates back many, many decades.”
The Pentagon’s Inspector-General warned that officials may not be in a position to answer questions from families if the medical examiner does not keep accurate and complete records of retained organs. This “could lead to emotional distress.”
The Armed Forces Medical Examiner System has mishandled a substantial number of organs it collected from autopsies in recent years, according to new findings by the Pentagon’s Inspector General.https://t.co/s4HrME5yO8
— Stars and Stripes March 20, 2024
Stars and Stripes Added:
The IG found that more than half of 208 people included in the study died without their next-of-kin being instructed on how to dispose organs.
The report stated that 91% of the families of these people never knew AFMES had retained a kidney.
According to the report, 41% of the times that DOD officials received disposition instructions, they failed to follow them.
The system failed to track organs that were retained by examiners during autopsies. This means DOD officials might not be able respond to requests from families for information about the status of these remains.
The IG warned that this could “cause emotional stress” for families who are missing the remains held by AFMES and who planned to bury them or dispose of them another way.
The report stated that the mismanagement was due to the lack of clear policies and procedures for the medical examiners system in tracking the retention, transportation, storage, or release of the organs.
You can read the full report by the Office of Inspector General of the Department of Defense HERE.
“}]]
