Pathologists: The truth?
The number of lives lost to Covid may never be known because not enough postmortems are being carried out, pathologists warn.
The true toll taken by the pandemic will remain uncertain while the chance to obtain potentially crucial information about the virus is being lost because mortuaries cannot carry out enough post-mortem examinations and testing. Pathologists say the sheer number of deaths means they have been unable to carry out sufficient studies of the deceased in order to learn how the virus attacks the body. Doctors in Scotland do not have to examine a body to issue a death certificate and are only required to state the likely cause of death. Now leading pathologists fear this, and the lack of postmortems for a substantial number of suspected coronavirus cases, means the true toll of Scottish victims will never be known. Dr Mike Osborn, a consultant histopathologist and chairman of the Royal College of Pathologists’ death investigations committee, believes 1,000 more post-mortems would have provided lifesaving research into the virus.
“Only a few were carried out in the UK – including 10 at Imperial College, London and a small number in Edinburgh,” he said. “Around 1,000 are needed from all UK regions, ages, ethnic and socio-economic groups, and at all stages of the pandemic. Those numbers and diversity are needed for good research.
“With consent of next-of-kin, we can examine tissue and look at pathophysiology, which tells us about how the disease process works and (the virus) goes about damaging the body’s organs. “However, we have been hampered by capacity issues. Have we missed an opportunity? Had resources been better, we