What rights the executors of an individual that dies in hospital without any next of kin have to refuse a post mortem or organ removal on b…

In terms of the Human Tissue Act 1961, two different sets of circumstances need to be considered. Section 1(1) of the act provides: "If any person, either in writing at any time or orally in the presence of two or more witnesses during his last illness, has expressed a request that his body or any specified part be used after his death for therapeutic purposes or for purposes of medical education or research, the person lawfully in possession of his body after his death may, unless he has reason to believe that the request was subsequently withdrawn, authorise the removal from the body of any part or, as the case may be, the specified part, for use in accordance with the request." In the case of an individual dying in hospital without any next of kin, there would be nothing to prevent the person lawfully in charge of the body consulting the executor as to whether the original request had been withdrawn.Section 1(2)(a) of the 1961 act provides that the person lawfully in possession of the body can authorise the removal of any part of the body for the purposes of medical education or research if, after reasonable inquiry, he has no reason to believe that the deceased had expressed an objection to the body being so dealt with after death, and had not withdrawn that objection. In the case of a person dying in hospital with no next of kin, one option would clearly be to inquire of the executors whether the deceased had expressed any objections to a post-mortem examination.The 1961 act is generally regarded as unsatisfactory, and the Executive has accepted the recommendation from the Review Group on Retention of Organs at Post-Mortem that it should be replaced when legislative time becomes available.