If you lost a family member before June of 2010 and they were the subject of a coroner-ordered autopsy, you’re being invited to contact Ontario’s forensic pathology service.

Four-thousand organs are in possession of Ontario’s forensic pathology service. Some of the organs date back to the 1970s. In most cases, families may not have known in order to spare them further grief.

Organs were kept in order to determine the cause of death.

Now, families are notified when an organ is retained.

Immediate family members and personal representatives (i.e. those responsible for administering an estate) can contact the Ontario Forensic Pathology Service and the Office of the Chief Coroner at 1-855-564-4122 or send an email to OrganRetention@ontario.ca to find out if an organ was retained in their case.

Affected people may request that the organ be sent to a funeral home for cremation or burial, at the expense of the Ontario Forensic Pathology Service and the Office of the Chief Coroner.