[Histonet] Hospital fetus disposition survey

[GUTIERREZ, JUAN]

I'll try to make this short.  We are a Catholic not for profit hospital.
Parents have the option to bury on their own as long as they go thru a funeral home regardless of gestational Age. The hospital also offers a free mass burial once a month for the <20 week group.  For the 20> week they are offered a private burial at a greatly reduced price or free if they can't afford it.  In the case when the parents do not care about the remains, they are buried as stated above, with the hospital incurring the cost.
In Texas, state law only requires that a funeral home handles the transaction.  They don't care what the final disposition is.
 

Juan C. Gutierrez, HT(ASCP)
Histology Laboratory Supervisor
(210)704-2533

My opinions are my own and do not reflect those of my employer.  Long live free speech!


-----Original Message-----
From: histonet-bounces <@t> lists.utsouthwestern.edu [mailto:histonet-bounces <@t> lists.utsouthwestern.edu] On Behalf Of chiggerson <@t> memhosp.com
Sent: Tuesday, August 23, 2005 11:40 AM
To: histonet <@t> lists.utsouthwestern.edu
Subject: [Histonet] Hospital fetus disposition survey

Histonetters,

We are evaluating our current practices for fetus disposal at our facility 
and would like to know how both Catholic and non-Catholic hospitals handle 
fetus disposition at their facilities. I am interested in practices for 
both fetal loss greater than 20 weeks gestation  AND less than 20 weeks 
gestation (products of conception). 

Please include religious affiliation, if any, of your institution.

1.      Are parents given the option to have the hospital handle the 
disposition for the remains at < 20 wks, >20 weeks, or both? 

2.      If parents opt for hospital disposition, is it handled on-site, or 
contracted by the hospital off-site (with a funeral home)?  If off-site, 
is the patient charged for disposition?

3.      Method of disposition? Cremation? Burial? Other?

4.      Are remains collected/disposed of separately, or co-mingled with 
other tissues?

5.      Is disposal method dictated by State Law? Please include state.

Any additional information you can give me about your practices would be 
helpful. 

Thank you in advance for your help.

Cindy
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