Anato-pathology

Question

Hello,
I apologize for this very dark question.
If they expressed this wish or agreement during their lifetime (we always say that we can "leave our body to science?"), are dead CF patients sometimes autopsied? Not for the forensic pathology, but for advanced knowledge by examining the lungs, the gastrointestinal tract etc ... and for see exactly what happens in these affected organs?
Thank you.
Sincerely.

Answer

Dear questioner.

To answer your question I would like to redefine the autopsy, body donation to science and organ donation, three terms that can be confusing.

The autopsy called medico-scientific is sometimes performed to find the medical cause of a death. It’s most often at the request of the medical team that was in charge of the patient and for which the cause of death is not clear. It’s performed by a physician pathologist. In France, this medico-scientific autopsy is performed in less than 5% of deaths. In this case, there’s no research protocol performed on various organs, but it helps nevertheless to advance medical knowledge.

Legacy or gift of his body to science is different. It’s performed in a medical school to allow students to learn anatomy and doctors to develop or refine new techniques, usually surgical. The decision must be anticipated during lifetime, and the request is made by writing to the nearest establishment. The person receives a card that will be necessary for transfers procedures at death. In France, 2500 to 3000 legacies are made per year.

Finally, organ donation consists in taking functional organs or tissue of the human body to treat patients whose vital organs are deficient. Organ donation is done on people who are brain dead. Each of us is considered as potential donor after death unless they expressed opposition during his lifetime by being listed in the National Register of Refusal [translator's comment: this organ donation is handled very differently in all European countries, this is how it is in France; in Germany, for example, one has to agree in organ donation by filling in an organ donation pass]. In France, there are research protocols on deficient organs taken during transplantation to better understand their dysfunction, particularly in CF. Patients are informed and signed an informed consent before their inclusion on the transplant waiting list.

So, the gift of one's body to science help to advance research and scientific knowledge as well as participation in clinical research protocols during one's lifetime.

Best regards,
Dr Nadine Dufeu

05.06.2013