The Union Health Ministry on November 15 announced that changes have been made in post-mortem protocols to allow the procedure to be conducted after sunset in hospitals with adequate infrastructure. The new rules will be effective from November 15, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare added.
Explaining why the decision was taken, the Union ministry said in a release: “(The post-mortem protocols were changed) in response to the multiple references that have been received by the Union Health Ministry from various sources and in line with the Government’s commitment to promoting ease of living by reducing the burden imposed due to compliance to government processes.”
The ministry further said: “Apart from friends and relatives of the deceased, this new procedure also promotes organ donation and transplant as organs can be harvested in the stipulated time window after the procedure.”
The release added that the changes were introduced after a technical committee in the Directorate General of Health Services, Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, examined the representations.
It was learned during the process that some institutes are already performing night-time post-mortem. So, in view of the rapid advancement and improvement in technology, especially the availability of required lighting and infrastructure required for post-mortem, performing night-time post-mortem in hospitals is now feasible.
As per the new post-mortem protocols, it can be done after sunset for organ donation and in hospitals that have the necessary infrastructure for conducting such post-mortem on a regular basis.
