Retrospective study of abandoned dead bodies in the morgue of a tertiary health institution: the identified, unidentified and unclaimed. https://doi.org/10.60787/NMJ-62-5-45

Abstract

Background: Dead bodies in a morgue can be grouped into any of the following: identified- but-not-abandoned, unidentified/unclaimed and identified-but-abandoned. The first group usually poses no challenge. The unidentified/unclaimed group is always a challenge to every morgue management, while little or nothing is known about the identified-but-abandoned group.

Methodology: This is a retrospective study of all the unidentified/unclaimed dead bodies and the identified-but-abandoned dead bodies seen in the morgue of the University of Uyo Teaching Hospital (UUTH), Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. The information for this study was gotten from the UUTH morgue register.

Results: 114 dead bodies deposited in the morgue were studied, 89 of these bodies were identified but abandoned, while 25 were unidentified/unclaimed. For the identified–but-abandoned, the youngest bodies were that of day old neonates and the oldest body was an 87 years old male giving a mean age of 37.01 ± 20.88. Males accounted for 57.3% (n=51), while females accounted for 42.7% (n=38), with a male to female ratio of 1.3:1. Age groups 0-39 years accounted for 60.7% of the identified-but–abandoned bodies. The 25 unidentified/unclaimed bodies include 22 males and 3 females giving a male to the female sex ratio of 7.3:1. Their ages were not known. About 73.7% of the study population (n=84) were in-patients on treatment in the various wards of the hospital and died during the course of treatment while 30 dead bodies (26.3%), were brought in dead (BID). Direct relatives of the deceased (siblings or parents or children or spouse) deposited the bodies in the morgue on 37.8% of occasions, potters (ward maids) on 23.7% and security/uniform agencies on 23.7%.

Conclusion: Identified-but-abandoned dead bodies exist. Relatives should be made to understand that the only right a dead person has, is at least a decent burial.