Rejected petition Establish Digital Autopsy Centre as an alternative to invasive post mortems and reduce delay in releasing body for burial.

We request Birmingham City Council and HM Coroner to work towards reducing the delay in the release of the dead body and to establish a Digital Autopsy Centre in Birmingham which would allow a less intrusive examination of the deceased as an alternative to a normal post mortem. A post mortem, or autopsy, examination is a very invasive technique of determining the cause of death of an individual for either medical or legal reasons. Many individuals, whether it be for religious or cultural reasons, wish for their loved ones not to undergo such an invasive procedure after death. Too often a post mortem is deemed necessary simply because of a referral to the coroner from the GP or hospital even though the patient may have had a proven history of illness. In these cases the families of the deceased may feel that an unnecessary invasive procedure can potentially be avoided by the use of the MRI facility available.