7/11/09

Lives lost due to information block by coroners

Doctors have called for coroners to routinely request consent from relatives to store DNA from young people who die suddenly from heart disease or without explanation.

In response Professor Peter Weissberg, Medical Director at the British Heart Foundation, says:

"Around 500 young people die suddenly each year with seemingly no explanation or cause of death, leaving families devastated and bewildered.

"Lives are being lost because coroners don’t routinely alert families to the possibility their relative may have died from an inherited heart condition and do not ask for a DNA sample to be retained at the time of post mortem.

"The BHF, in collaboration with the Department of Health, has established a Genetics Information Service to ensure that families identified at risk are rapidly referred to specialist centres for advice and assessment, but coroners aren’t passing this information on to relatives.

"Whilst the legal obligation of coroners is confined to establishing the cause of death, the BHF believes that they also have an obligation to do everything they can to help those family members who may be at risk of the same fate."

We're working with the Department of Health's on a new Genetic Information Service which helps relatives deal with the consequences of losing a loved one to an inherited heart condition. If you are affected please call us on 0300 456 8383.