I think all bodies also have to have an autopsy, like they do in UK, if the person dies suddenly, that might be where the person who asked the question on the other thread was concerned as they remove organs then for testing, but they should be returned to the relatives afterwards. Maybe the legal case was because the organs weren't returned? Which rang a bell why I thought they took organs from all bodies and that I had heard that it sometimes returned to UK without all the bits and pieces..

This is a useful link as it covers funeral and how they do things here.

www.britishembassy.gov.uk/Files/KFile/deaths.pdf

I applaud you for being delighted, should you die, that your organs could be of benefit to other/s. However, just say you were young, in peak fitness, but died through medical malpractice....under private medical health? You went into the private hospital, designated by your private health insurance company, only for a routine operation. You then came out, post-operative for a month, and then had to be rushed back into another private medical hospital. 3 months later you are dead, and the first doctor blaming the second doctor for your death!! Then, your family pay a lot of money for a private autopsey, plus the transportation of your body back to the uk....only to be told, on arrival in the uk, that all your organs are missing, plus your brain!!! Your family is then told by the coroner, who picked the body up from the airport in uk, that an inquest will be held, because a body has been received into that country minus all organs.

Anyway, to cut a long story short, the inquest by the uk coroner was never held, the organs are still held 'in a place of rest' by the coroner spain.

Going back to your post. What do you mean by saying, and I quote, "that if we moved to the Spanish system then this could allay the fears of those who feel this way."? I would be interested in exactly what system you are talking about.

If the person you are talking about is someone close to you, I'm sorry for your loss Cherie and it must be unimaginable what you have had to go through.

Oh my, thanks JDR & admin, and 'Whoever', for allowing this thread.

Personally, I was wondering if you did ever talk about Real things on this Site.

Yes, this person was close to me, but I now write in the hope that I can help ohers, the same as Wendy Garcia helped me.

Thanks Arco

Its on this link HERE second page on rhs and top of third page.

So the bottom line seems to be if you die in Spain, you have your organs removed, either whilst you are still "alive" for harvesting for donations or if you die without warning, you have them taken as well for autopsy purpose and you may or may not get them back....One way or another you're not going to be in one piece it seems when you get buried/cremated.

I think its the same in UK though if you die suddenly they take out and test certain organs.
But here you have to opt out of donating organs instead of opting in as in UK.

Millions of people in the UK were buried with our all their organs as it was at one time common practice to take 'interesting' organs out for medical museums, this practice only stopped when there was all that hoo hah in Liverpool about organs being retained without the express permission of the relatives. At that time there was panic stations in ALL pathology laboratories to find out what organs were still retained, did they have permission, and if not, the organs 'vanished' so that labs were clear. It was mainly the teaching hospitals that had kept them, but I suspect many small labs had some.

Cherie I am sorry that you had to undergo the apalling experience you described. Losing someone close to you is tragic, but to never have a satisfactory explanation as to why compounds the situation. We lost a niece in a moped accident days before her 18th birthday in Ibiza, and a Spanish friend lost her daughter of a similar age in a road accident driving back from Madrid. One learns to live with it, but, parents especially can never be the same again.
Sometimes in the midst of these tragic events, the people handiling the aftermath act for the best at the time. I remember the controversy over the removal of the hands of Marchioness victims so that identity could be reconfirmed at a later date should there have been any confusion during the initial recovery operation.
My reference to allaying people's fears was re the oft heard comment that they are less likely to keep one alive on a slim thread if one is known to be an organ donor, but as one of the other posters has written, this seems to be a falsehood.
I know that people hold different attitudes and to some the removal of organs must be on a par with desecration. My personal feeling is that as long as the person is treated with dignity, then making use of the loss of one life to enhance another is always to be welcomed. After all in life we have come to acept the removal of so many organs to keep us living.. the appendix, spleen,uterus,lung etc etc etc. I support the Spanish system, not having been aware of it until this thread.

I too, am so sorry that you lost a niece in a moped accident, and spanish friends of yours, lost a daughter of similar age, in a road accident. My heart goes out to you all.
As regard the hands of the marchioness.....I have no idea what you are talking about.
Yes, of course I agree with you; organs should be used to benefit the rest of mankind.
Your reference to allaying people's fears, in my opinion is correct. Stick by your opinions, despite another poster seemingly to call your opinion a falsehood.
Your personal opinion is also correct, but what happens when the person, who is dying, is not treated with Dignity? Especially when you are actually paying for such Dignity. Must go over now to a recent post on centro medico.

A piece of advice. Those expatriates from uk, whether living, working, retired, etc.. here in Spain. Get legal, and join the spanish national health system, especially in the valencian area. It seems this area is the best in Spain, according to the british embassy. On no accounts, join the private medical health system in spain......they are only just coming out of the woods on this count. Years ago, I was told that they only employ the most mediocre doctors; same I suppose as uk.

Cherie. It is not a question of "getting legal" that prevents people seeking medical attention through the Spanish national health service, but that they are not eligible for free treatment.

If people aren't eligible for treatment under the E106 or E121 or aren't working and paying into the Spanish system, they have no recourse but to take out private medical insurance. There are many threads on this forum covering this.

Some unfortunate people with a pre-existing medical condition, not eligible for E106, E121 or treatment under the Spanish system, can't even get private medical insurance.

I think it's a bit of a sweeping statement to say that practitioners in the private sector are the most mediocre. I've found incompetence and lack of care to exist in all areas offering a service to the public and in many countries, as I'm sure most of us have. And there are also many dedicated, efficient and exceptional people. Very often, I think, people's bad experiences when they move out of their country of origin are due to the differences in culture and the language barrier.

Personally, although I'm not keen on giving unsolicited advice, I would recommend employing your own translator or gestor whenever there are complicated medical or legal problems to be faced in a foreign country.

Cherie even in Britain palliative care can be less that it is painted to be. Dying of ovarian cancer but with her organs fully functioning in every other way, my mother was subjet to much pressure by the so called palliative care consultant to undergo a course of chemotherapy., which she had briefly considered, then rejected. I nearly exploded when eavesdropping outside the drawn curtains when they suggsted that she was depressed bceause she wanted to jst be left alone, and advised her to see a counsellor. This to a woman who knew she was not far from death. I know this is slightly off thread, but people should be alowed to die if they wish to.
In the aftermath of the Marchioness disaster, I believe some of the victims' hands were amputated before they were released for burial, as a back up identification system should there have been any errors in the confusion of the initial aftermath.