The Pentagon's internal watchdog has found that the Armed Forces Medical Examiner mismanaged the collection and handling of organs from at least 184 deceased troops — and hundreds of others — that were collected as samples as part of the autopsy process.
According to a report released Monday, officials with the medical examiner's office failed to set up “consistent processes or policies for organ retention and disposition” that led to families either not knowing that organs had been taken or not having their wishes for those remains honored.
The report by the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General also noted the military's medical examiner was not effectively tracking the organs that it kept and that administrative errors led to uncertainty and confusion for officials within the medical examiner's office.
Read Next: Largest Number of A-10s Yet Could Be Headed to Boneyard as Air Force Shifts Strategy and Aircraft
Defense Department officials who briefed reporters Monday following the release of the report said that some deaths require organs to be taken in order to conduct detailed analysis or testing to determine a cause of death. According to the inspector general investigation, the Defense Department was required to notify the next of kin if that needed to occur.
The medical examiner's office currently has specimens for 433 individuals — including those of 184 service members, according to the officials. The office…
