title: [Patients' rights of the deceased and related problems in Hungarian law].
abstract: In the Hungarian law, non-burial interventions on cadavers are regulated only by the health law and, therefore, other scientific examinations are theoretically not allowed. Only the international ethical code of museums is used in certain cases. Numerous cultures consider this practice as the mutilation of the cadaver. Beyond this and the criminal forms of mutilation, the medical interventions (trial and training) are also appropriate to hurt the dignity of the dead. As a counterweight, the consent of the patient or his/her relatives is needed for post-mortem interventions. This study presents the Hungarian legislation in which the deceased is a 'patient', and the special enforcement of patients' rights takes place in relation to the body. The relatives have many rights concerning autopsy, and the anatomy institutes are also regulated. The presumption of opting-out is used for organ harvesting; objection is accepted only from the patient. Medical data of the deceased are strictly protected, but there are no obstacles to the interests of the relatives. Graduate and postgraduate medical education pays only little attention to these issues, and the legislation is not in line with the present expectations and possibilities, so that it would be advisable to reconsider the full spectrum of the problem.
authors.affiliation: Általános Orvostudományi Kar, Szent-Györgyi Albert Klinikai Központ Igazságügyi Orvostani Intézet Szeged Kossuth L. kereszty.eva.margit@med.u-szeged.hu
authors.forename: Eva Margit
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Kereszty
mesh_terms: D001344:Autopsy; D002102:Cadaver; D004501:Education, Medical / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D005190:Family; D018594:Human Body; D006801:Humans; D006814:Hungary; D007603:Jurisprudence; D007883:Legislation, Medical / Q000592:standards / Q000639:trends; D028701:Patient Rights / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D020458:Third-Party Consent; D020858:Tissue and Organ Harvesting / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*