An Israeli court has instructed the Abu Kabir Forensic Institute in Tel Aviv to pay 550,000 shekels ($143,000) to two families for storing the body parts of their deceased loved ones without permission. The amount of the compensation was determined as part of a settlement agreement between the state and families. The families were notified of the institute's misconduct in 2012 when it was revealed that for years, some 8,000 samples of remains had been kept in the institute illegally. The first case involved a 20-year-old who died in 2002 after ingesting a poisonous plant called Datura. After the autopsy, the institute was found to be in possession of two jars holding samples of his brain, thyroid gland, heart, lungs, spleen, pancreas and intestines. Although the young man's father had signed a form assenting to have an autopsy performed on his son, he did not sign a permit allowing the institute to keep any of his son's remains, and since the autopsy determined unequivocally that the young man had died of poisoning, there was no need to preserve any tissue samples for future criminal proceedings. Due to the surprising discovery, the family was forced to hold a second funeral to bury the rest of his remains. The case caused the mother mental duress, and she was eventually determined by the state to have a 30% mental disability status. The family was awarded 400,000 shekels ($104,000.) The second case involved a young man who was murdered in 2005, whose brain, heart, lungs, spleen, pancreas and spinal column the Abu Kabir Forensic Institute independently decided to remove. According to the lawyer for the deceased man's family, some of the organs were removed but not included in the autopsy report. This family, too, held a second funeral to bury the remains of their son kept at the institute without their consent. The family was awarded 150,000 shekels ($39,000.) A lawyer representing the families called what the institute had done with the deceased persons' remains "atrocious acts," and said that the state must compensate the families for their suffering.
Forensic institute to compensate families for body parts scandal
Abu Kabir Forensic Institute forced to compensate families of deceased after removing body tissues, organs without consent • Brain, heart, lungs, spleen, pancreas were removed and put in jars • "Atrocious acts," says lawyer representing families.
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