The São José Local Health Unit (ULS) identified a case of corpse swapping dating back to January 15th, when the body of a user who had died the previous day was improperly delivered to a funeral agency. The error consisted of the delivery of the wrong body, since the body of another user who also died on the same date should have been delivered.
The failure was detected by the family themselves during the wake, when they realized that the body received did not match that of their relative. This fact led to the error being identified by the funeral services and the incident being reported to the São José ULS.
Given the situation, the São José ULS decided to review and reinforce corpse identification measures. The objective is to ensure that similar errors do not occur again, implementing more rigorous procedures for the correct identification and delivery of bodies to families.
The case highlights the importance of verification protocols in the identification of deceased patients, as well as the need for continuous vigilance in the processes of transferring corpses to funeral agencies.
