Indeed they do; I believe some of the Asian Faiths require body parts to be buried with the person from whence they came. Certainly whilst I worked in London we had to 'return' an amputated leg to its rightful owner precisely for that reason. I also had to return a uterus, blocks and slides to a non-Asian lady for a reason I never quite understood. In the UK we are led to believe that body parts ought to be returned I suppose unless there is a health risk. In the case of the uterus I had to point out that it had been fixed and that the fixative including formalin (the COSHH sheet was issued); in the case of the leg I'm not quite sure. Once we had been directed to release the leg, which had also been fixed, I don't know where it went until its rightful owner 'threw off these mortal coils'. Years ago, of course, there were scandals over body parts being stored in plastic jars with brains and stuff in buckets. Some of those I gather were returned but don't actually know all the details.
You should return them (they're not yours) but explain the health risks and try and suggest that they are better disposed of by the Lab. Foetal parts obviously are outside of this and I've always treated them as if they were people (as best as one can). If you detect foetal material in RPC then it ought to be removed and disposed of with care; we've sent these parts to the local crematorium for disposal and scattering on the land. We have returned foetuses to the parents for burial and we have buried them ourselves. Out of interest in retained products of conception in my last few jobs we didn't sample them as long as we were sure that they were foetal not molar. Help? Kemlo Rogerson e-mail kemloroger...@nhs.net if not at work. DD 01934 647057 or extension 3311 Mob 07749 754194; Embrace uncertainty. Hard problems rarely have easy solutions. --Jonah Lehrer This e-mail is confidential and privileged. If you are not the intended recipient please accept my apologies; please do not disclose, copy or distribute information in this e-mail or take any action in reliance on its contents: to do so is strictly prohibited and may be unlawful. Please inform me that this message has gone astray before deleting it. Thank you for your co-operation -----Original Message----- From: histonet-boun...@lists.utsouthwestern.edu [mailto:histonet-boun...@lists.utsouthwestern.edu] On Behalf Of Carol Bryant Sent: 07 May 2009 20:38 To: histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu Subject: [Histonet] disposal of body parts Hello Histonetters! I work in a small multispecialty clinic laboratory where the majority of our specimens are derm, gi biopsies, etc. Today we had an amputated finger sent for gross only from our ambulatory surgery center and the patient wishes to have it back. Does CAP have any specific requirements in regard to disposal of tissue that would apply here? Don't some patients wish to have their amputated limbs back for religious reasons? If so, what is the proper protocol? Should they sign some type of release form? Thanks, Carol Carol Bryant, CT (ASCP) Cytology/Histology Manager Pathology Services Lexington Clinic Phone (859) 258-4082 Fax (859) 258-4081 cb...@lexclin.com NOTICE OF CONFIDENTIALITY This electronic message, including attachments, is for the sole use of the named recipient and may contain confidential or privileged information protected by the State of Kentucky and/or Federal regulations. Any unauthorized review, use, disclosure, copying or distribution is strictly prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient and have received this communication in error, please contact the sender and destroy all copies of the original message. Thank you. _______________________________________________ Histonet mailing list Histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu http://lists.utsouthwestern.edu/mailman/listinfo/histonet _______________________________________________ Histonet mailing list Histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu http://lists.utsouthwestern.edu/mailman/listinfo/histonet