Organ and tissue procurement companies say there has never been a case where a death investigation has been complicated or upended by their process. Yet the latimes found more than two dozen such cases in just two Southern California morgues.
Organ procurement before an investigation has long been legal, provided the coroner agreed. The motivation was to increase the number of hearts, kidneys and other vital organs needed to extend the lives of Americans waiting for transplants. To raise those numbers, California and other states over the last decade passed laws requiring coroners and medical examiners to “cooperate” with the companies to “maximize” the number of organs and tissues taken for transplant.
“One of my biggest concerns … was the mere fact that someone could potentially get away with murder because evidence has been bungled, lost or not collected,” she said. Jonathan Lucas, L.A. County’s chief medical examiner-coroner, said he believed his office’s pathologists had been able to use hospital records and other evidence to answer questions left by the procurement of tissues or organs. He said that, in the opinion of him and his staff, no criminal investigation or cause-of-death finding had been impeded. He added that the autopsies met his office’s “protocol and the statutory requirements.
Jonn Flath, 18, had been excelling in sports and school when he sat down and died in 2011 while working out with cadets in the Air Force ROTC program. After the company shipped what remained of the teen’s heart back to the morgue, two other specialists also examined it, Lucas said. It’s uncommon but possible for someone with “a normal appearing heart” to die of a fatal cardiac arrhythmia, he said.
To increase the supply of harvested body parts, the companies have embedded procurement teams inside government morgues across the country. A human body can supply skin, bone and other tissues for medical products that biotech firms sell for hundreds of thousands of dollars to doctors and hospitals. Here are prices The Times found in a review of invoices received by hospitals.
Anthony Maldonado, a OneLegacy executive, said the company’s employees would never present themselves as working for the coroner.The companies — and many coroners and medical examiners who have partnered with them — say tissues and organs can be procured with no harm to the death investigation when the two sides work closely together. Companies say their employees can take photos of the bodies and the harvested organs.
Jennifer Stewart touches the grave marker of her daughter Vanessa Webb, who died unexpectedly at age 17. The cause of her death is undetermined. Her heart had been removed before the autopsy.
日本 最新ニュース, 日本 見出し
Similar News:他のニュース ソースから収集した、これに似たニュース記事を読むこともできます。
Summary of findings: What can go wrong when firms harvest bodies before autopsiesLos Angeles Times reporters found two dozen cases in which a death investigation was harmed by the procurement of body parts.
続きを読む »
How organ and tissue donation companies worked their way into the county morgueHow firms helped rewrite a law to make it difficult for coroners to stop them from harvesting body parts.
続きを読む »
Farmers in Idaho rallied to harvest a neighbor's potatoes as a deep freeze threatened to ruin themWith meteorologists predicting a hard freeze in southeast Idaho for Wednesday, farmers rushed to harvest all their potatoes before the surprise cold snap ruined them.
続きを読む »
Will a convicted pedophile make a fortune from a 'Joker' song?Short answer: no. But having Joaquin Phoenix dance around to disgraced glam-rocker Gary Glitter's 'Rock and Roll Part 2' was a loaded directorial decision.
続きを読む »
https://people.comGet the latest news about celebrities, royals, music, TV, and real people. Find exclusive content, including photos and videos, on PEOPLE.com.
続きを読む »
Answers in vaping investigation could take months, CDC official saysThe ongoing investigation into an outbreak of vaping-related lung injuries and deaths 'may take a few months' and possibly could yield 'multiple causes,' according to officials with the CDC and FDA.
続きを読む »