[Informed consent to postmortem tissue donation: a catamnestic survey within a year of the donor's death].

Unlabelled: The authors present data from 36 musculoskeletal donors. Talking to the next of kin plays a key role in the consenting process for tissue donation. We give an overview of our fundamental thoughts and the guidelines developed for the contact with the family and present the results of a catamnestic review.

Methods: One year after procurement, we contacted the consenting persons by telephone for an interview using a semi-standardized questionnaire to evaluate the information given on tissue donation and the emotional processing of the death.

Results: 8-18 months after the donation, 26 (72.2 %) consenting persons could be reached and gave a positive feedback with regard to the information and support provided and the consent given by them at that time.

Discussion: The telephone contact of physicians from an Institute of Legal Medicine with the family of a deceased is perceived as being helpful in an acute stress situation caused by a sudden death and as an accepted way to ascertain the deceased's last will with regard to a potential musculoskeletal donation. According to the German Transplantation Act asking for musculoskeletal donations is the duty of every physician. Our data show that this does not constitute an additional burden for the relatives, if the question is asked in an appropriate way.