A medical examiner is a doctor who has a medical degree and has specialized education and experience in the field of pathology and forensic pathology.

Yes! Once family members have expressed interest, local tissue and organ procurement services work closely with the State Medical Examiner's Office, and will review the appropriateness of the organ harvest with the Medical Examiner before allowing family members to formally consent to the donation. Being a victim of a homicide or traumatic death does not preclude a donor. All cases for organ donation require family consent. back to top

The basic autopsy involves making a Y-incision (cutting across the midline of the chest and abdomen) and cutting along the top and sides of the head. Although the process sounds disfiguring, autopsy incisions are rarely noticeable after completion of the autopsy if the body is clothed.

A County Medical Examiner (CMEs) is a physician licensed within the state of Iowa and appointed by their respective County Board of Supervisors to conduct investigations necessary to determine the cause and manner of death of individuals who die under violent, sudden, and unexpected circumstances (Iowa Code 331.801(3)). County Medical Examiner Investigators are trained death investigators who assist the CME in performing these duties.

No. There is no cost to the donor's family for organ and tissue donation. Once death has been declared and authorization is confirmed through the donor registry, or from the family in lieu of the registry, all costs associated with organ and/or tissue recovery are assumed by the recovery organizations. Hospital expenses incurred before the donation of organs or tissues in attempt to save the donor's life and funeral expenses remain the responsibility of the donor's family.

Once an individual has made the decision to be an organ and tissue donor and has joined the Donate Life California Registry, that individual's decision is honored. Family members cannot override that individual's decision to donate. At the time when donation is possible, family members will be informed of their loved one's wish to donate and walked through the process so they will know and understand how the recovery agency will carry out the deceased's decision to be a donor.

Each potential donor is evaluated for the presence of conditions or illnesses that might put the transplant recipients at risk. The only, absolute, contraindications to donation are the presence of HIV infection and/or active hepatitis infection. All other medical conditions are evaluated individually at the time of donation. Many people with chronic medical problems have safely donated vital organs and tissue.

The Iowa Office of the State Medical Examiner provides guidance and support to the County Medical Examiners who must investigate any and all violent, suspicious, and unexpected natural deaths that occur within their jurisdictions. The Iowa Office of the State Medical Examiner provides forensic autopsy, investigative, and consultative services when requested to do so by County Medical Examiner personnel.

Iowa is fortunate to have a state medical examiner system. Each of the 99 counties has a County Medical Examiner appointed by their County Board of Supervisors. The Iowa Office of the State Medical Examiner provides them support, guidance, education, consultation, and training.

Deaths that have an impact on the "public's interest". These types of death are outlined in Iowa Code chapter 331.802(3), and generally include: Violent deaths, which include homicide, suicide, or accidental death resulting from physical, mechanical, thermal, electrical, or radiation injury; Deaths related to disease thought to be virulent or contagious, which may constitute a public health hazard;

The Medical Examiner may take jurisdiction over an apparent natural death if the death was unexpected and no medical cause can be determined; if the decedent was not under the care of a physician for any disease, which could reasonably be expected to cause death; and if death might be due to a public health hazard. County Medical Examiners investigate and certify more than 2,000 deaths annually.

Tennessee law, or the Tennessee Code Annotated (TCA) 38-7-108(a)(1), "Death under suspicious, unusual or unnatural circumstances," states, Any physician, undertaker, law enforcement officer, or other person having knowledge of the death of any person from sudden violence or by casualty or by suicide, or suddenly when in apparent health, or when found dead, or in prison, or in any suspicious, unusual, or unnatural manner, or where the body is to be cremated shall immediately notify the county med.

Medical examiners and coroners provide a similar service to their communities. Coroners are part of an older system with origins that date back to England many centuries ago. They are usually elected lay individuals who contract with physicians to provide autopsies and medical expertise to support their investigations. In contrast, the medical examiner system is an American creation approximately a century old.

Alaska law requires the Medical Examiner to investigate the circumstances and determine the cause and manner of death of all deaths that are:

If you are a S.A. PPL holder looking for a S.A. approved AME, I maintain these contact details: S.A. AMEs in the UK. (If you know of any more, they can be added for free!) It's probably not as bad as you expect, You do need a test with an examiner, but any retraining is at your discretion providing it is not 5 years since the lapse. Re-training in these circumstances can be at an unlicensed airfield - I do it at Popham. See Training by Irv Lee.

No. All costs related to the donation will be covered by the organ, tissue, and eye recovery agencies.

NO. Donation costs nothing to the donor’s family or estate. Organ and tissue donation is a gift. The family of a donor does not pay any hospital or physician fees associated with the organ and tissue donation.

Should the situation arise where donation is a possibility, your family may be asked about your decision to be an organ and/or tissue donor. Anecdotal evidence has shown that families are more likely to say yes to donation if they are aware of their loved ones’ wishes to donate. The more family members who know of your decision to donate (or not donate) organs or tissue for transplantation, the more likely it is that your wishes will be upheld.

Most of the general population is eligible for donation of body to science. However, we cannot guarantee that a body donation for medical research is suitable until a determination is made by us at the time of death. Donors with active communicable diseases (diseases that can be passed from person to person such as viral Hepatitis, HIV/AIDS, Creutzfeldt Jakob d Disease or Tuberculosis) may not donate.