NCJ Number
218491
Journal
Journal of Forensic Sciences Volume: 52 Issue: 3 Dated: May 2007 Pages: 692-697
Date Published
May 2007
Length
6 pages
Annotation
Given the reluctance of many medical examiners to allow heart-valve donations for transplant from autopsy subjects due to examiners' belief it might complicate the determination of heart-related causes of death, this study examined the hearts of deceased persons who had donated their heart valves after death in order to determine whether the donation impaired cardiac pathologic examination.
Abstract
The study concluded that the valve donation procedure did not severely impair cardiopathologic examination in determining cause of death. The one death-related condition that will be obscured by heart valve removal for donation is conduction system abnormalities; however, cases of sudden cardiac death due solely to conduction system abnormalities are relatively uncommon (2.9 percent of cases of sudden cardiac death in one study). Of the 593 cases examined, 91 had a cause of death suspected to be heart-related. In these cases, 132 significant cardiac findings were identified. In only six cases in which the cause of death was thought to be heart-related were examiners unable to determine the heart-related cause of death. This study was initiated by the American Red Cross (ARC), one of the Nation's largest tissue procurement agencies. In 2001, the ARC contacted the Jesse E. Edwards Registry of Cardiovascular Disease. This Registry is a laboratory that contains over 20,000 cataloged hearts with various acquired and congenital diseases. At the request of the ARC, the Registry lab performed cardiovascular pathologic examination on 593 hearts that had valve tissue removed for donation, so as to determine whether heart-related cause of death might have been impaired by the donation. All of the hearts examined had been received by the Registry between October 2001 and January 2005. 6 tables, 2 figures, and 18 references