The Dallas Morning News
Published 25 February 2011
Parkland Memorial Hospital has changed the way families are asked to approve an autopsy for a deceased loved one, giving the next of kin a better idea of what the procedure entails.
In December, the charity hospital’s autopsy-consent procedures were the subject of a Dallas Morning News story about a Hispanic family that was outraged when organs were removed from their deceased daughter, Sonia Soto, during an autopsy and never returned.
The public hospital acknowledged Friday that new autopsy consent forms went into effect this month. The forms more clearly inform families that organs are removed during an autopsy and that these body parts can be returned before a funeral is held for the deceased person.
“The family may request that the organs be returned to the body at the time of the autopsy,” noted the new form, which is now available in English and Spanish.
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