The heart of a British man whose disappearance outraged his family has been sent to the UK for histopathological tests, Cypriot forensic expert Marios Matsakis said.
He explained that in Cyprus there is no necessary specialist - a histopathologist, so analyzes of internal organs removed during autopsy are forced to be sent abroad.
Recall that a 73-year-old British woman discovered that her 76-year-old husband’s heart was missing during a second autopsy after his sudden death in the Famagusta area. The woman was shocked and contacted the media,
According to Matsakis, in most cases, small tissue samples called biopsies are taken for specialized studies. However, in exceptional situations, the histopathologist may require an entire organ, including the heart.
“The problem is that there is no histopathologist in Cyprus,” he noted. “Therefore, the study is carried out in England by a specialist who has a contract with the Republic of Cyprus. It takes months. If we had our own histopathologist, the process would last two to three days, after which the organ could be returned for burial or shipping abroad.”
Asked why the country did not have its own specialist, Matsakis said that previously samples were sent to the Nicosia General Hospital, where the workload on histopathologists was too high. Attempts to secure new contracts with local specialists failed and an agreement was eventually signed with a histopathologist based in London.
Matsakis stressed that the relatives of the deceased should have been notified of the procedure, as is customary in such cases, but most likely in this case there was administrative confusion. “The heart can be returned to the family if they wish,” the medical examiner added, clarifying that this will definitely happen later.
Source: in-cyprus.philenews.com
