A CAMPAIGNING widow has given a cautious welcome to new coroner's rules regarding the retention of organs during post mortems.

Mrs Elaine Isaacs, of Whitefield, believes the changes to the rules, which came into effect on June 1, will help to raise awareness of the issue of organ and tissue retention.

However, she claims there are still some loopholes which could affect the treatment of families and the deceased when faced with the prospect of having a coroner's post mortem.

Mrs Isaacs discovered that her husband's brain had been removed without her permission during a coroner's post mortem after his death in 1987.

Cyril Isaacs committed suicide while suffering from mental health problems, but his wife did not find out the shocking truth about his brain until 12 years later, after reviewing his medical papers.

Mrs Isaacs fought for an independent investigation into the removal of her husband's brain and the Isaacs Report was published by the Department of Health in 2003.

The report featured 34 recommendations surrounding the post mortem procedure and the issue of families' consent for organ retention.

As a direct result of those recommendations, the Coroner's Rules have now been amended, specifically Rules 9 and 12 which relate to the preservation of material from post mortem examinations.

The Isaacs Report revealed that the rules previously caused some "confusion among coroners, pathologists and researchers with regards to the legality of organ and tissue retention and the length of time they could be kept.

In Mr Isaac's case, his brain was not retained to establish the cause of death, as can happen in many post mortems, but was taken purely for research.

Mrs Isaacs said the idea of a post mortem was bad enough for her to deal with as, being Jewish, the procedure is forbidden. But to learn that her husband's brain had been taken without her consent was traumatic.

She said: "I am cautiously optimistic about the amended rules. Whilst I appreciate that there are times when a coroner has to retain things, the family concerned has got to be told.

"They have also got to be told how long it is to be kept for. With a coroner's post mortem, a family has no say over what happens but we do have rights and the deceased person has rights. Professionals do not have the right over families."

Commenting on the amended coroner's rules, Mrs Isaacs said she now hoped people would be more informed and that families would be notified about the coroner's or pathologist's intentions.

She added: "Families can now be given a timescale for how long the organ or tissue is to be retained and this will be put in writing.

"They will be given options; if they want it back which should be the first option - or if they want to gift it for research.

Mrs Isaacs said that her main concern was about who would be responsible for obtaining consent from the family.

She said: "If a family decided they didn't mind it going for research, which authority would be accountable for that consent? Is it the coroner, the pathologist or the research people?"

Mrs Isaacs said that she was also concerned about what would happen if someone died and they had no family to give consent.

"In that case the organ or tissue should go for respectful burial or cremation," she said.