Deputy Health Minister Ya’acov Litzman has ordered an investigation of the
performance of Prof. Yehuda Hiss, the longtime pathologist who heads the
L.
Greenberg Institute of Forensic Medicine at Abu Kabir.
Litzman
was referring to complaints against Hiss about allegedly holding tissue and
organs removed during pathology exams, including the return of tissue for burial
in a ministry campaign.
Some years ago, Hiss was severely criticized by
newspapers that investigated his handling of body parts. In response, the
ministry took away the institute’s independent status, rendering it subservient
to Assaf Harofeh Medical Center in Tzrifin.
The burial of the tissue
samples, which have been used to demonstrate causes of death in cases of
unnatural death, will take place in a mass grave on June 5. Families have been
informed. Only microscopic samples need to be stored at this point, the ministry
said.
Ministry director-general Prof. Ronni Gamzu will report back to
Litzman in a month about Hiss’s performance.