Small pieces of tissue and, occasionally, organs may be removed from a body and preserved by a Pathologist if they are relevant to the cause of death or the identity of the deceased. If this material is retained for additional examination, the Coroner will notify the next of kin, and ask what they wish to happen to the organs or tissue when no longer required.
When the material is no longer needed for the Coroner's investigation it will either be kept as part of the pathology record or returned to the deceased's family or representative, if requested, or disposed of by burial or cremation. If a pathologist believes it would be appropriate to keep organs and tissue, for example for use in research or for training purposes, he or she must obtain your consent. In exceptional cases, eg. involving murder, the retained tissue may have to be kept for a longer period.
Further general information on tissue retention and the legal requirements relating to consent can be obtained form the Human Tissue Authority on 020 7269 1900 or online
