[Histonet] Re: Releasing specimens to patients

[RSRICHMOND <@t> aol.com]

Amy Garcia asks about releasing fetal remains to patients.

I'd have to agree that this is a job for a funeral director. It's certainly 
something your pathologist should know about and should make the decisions on. 
There are some real problems with who gets hold of recognizable fetal tissue, 
which should always be stored and disposed of with great care. 

A pathologist of my acquaintance - not in a state I've practiced in recently 
- had an incident where anti-abortion people stole fetuses from his department 
and harassed the patient whose name appeared on the container (imagine doing 
that to a woman who's probably mourning the loss of a baby!) I asked the 
pathologist if he was really sure if that had happened, and he said it definitely 
had.

Bob Richmond