[Histonet] Re: fetal demise under 20 wks

[Mark Tarango]

Most places I've worked usually put a piece of placenta through processing
and let the fetus go to the funeral home if no autopsy is performed and the
family plans a funeral.  There was one lab that would just measure the
footlength and do a gross description, but that was for planned abortions.

"Anti-abortion crazies" is an accurate and non-inflammatory description of
someone who steals confidential information and then tries to harrass a
patient.  Protecting patient's personal information is the law.  Stealing
info and harassing people is against the law.

Mark

On 1/5/09, O'Donnell, Bill <billodonnell <@t> catholichealth.net> wrote:
>
> Concerning disposal. Many (most) funeral homes are willing to do a
> cremation of remains, remaining respectful of the remains and keeping
> the consciences of any that might be sensitive in these matters clear.
> They will likely do so in "groups".
>
> I'll be refraining from using inflamatory remarks concerning those who
> both oppose and support abortion rights by less-than-orthodox methods.
> It twould be good to see the same in future posts.
>
> William (Bill) O'Donnell, HT (ASCP) QIHC
> Lead Histologist
> Good Samaritan Hospital
> 10 East 31st Street
> Kearney, NE 68847
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: histonet-bounces <@t> lists.utsouthwestern.edu
> [mailto:histonet-bounces <@t> lists.utsouthwestern.edu] On Behalf Of Robert
> Richmond
> Sent: Monday, January 05, 2009 12:41 PM
> To: histonet <@t> lists.utsouthwestern.edu
> Subject: [Histonet] Re: fetal demise under 20 wks
>
> Jessica Vacca in Brandon FL asks: >>Are there any facilities that do not
> perform a gross and micro on a fetus less than 20 wks, if mom wishes to
> bury it? Do you have a policy that states this and are you willing to
> share? Does mom sign a form stating that she does not wish for pathology
> to be done?<<
>
> In a situation like this, the placenta needs to be examined both grossly
> and microscopically, but the fetus generally does not. Most pathology
> labs are not equipped to do an autopsy on a fetus this size, and most
> pathologists (definitely including me) are not trained to do this kind
> of autopsy. Most of the services I've worked on do not routinely dissect
> the fetus.
>
> Certainly, before I'd undertake any such autopsy, I'd want to make sure
> that a funeral wasn't planned. Believe or not, open casket funerals for
> fetuses are not unusual.
>
> By the way, if you do dispose of a fetus, do so with great care, and
> make sure that all identification is removed from it before final
> disposal. Anti-abortion crazies have sometimes used this information to
> harass the bereaved mother, as if she'd had the pregnancy aborted.
> (This isn't an urban legend - I can supply a reference.)
>
> Bob Richmond
> Samurai Pathologist
> Knoxville TN
>
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