# Transportation of patient's body from surgery to morgue
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/transportation-of-patients-body-from-surgery-to-morgue/755833
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [May 27, 2016, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/transportation-of-patients-body-from-surgery-to-morgue/755833 "2016-05-27T17:31:37Z")
**Posts on this page:** 18
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@DRW1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DRW1)
#### Post date: [May 27, 2016, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/transportation-of-patients-body-from-surgery-to-morgue/755833/1 "2016-05-27T17:31:37Z")
Hello everyone. Hopefully someone here will be able to help me. I’m writing a novel and I’m stuck on the part where a patient dies in a surgery, and the body needs to be taken to the morgue. Who’s going to carry the body down to the morgue? People working at the morgue, or the hospital nurse? Thank you in advance.
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### Author:  [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)
#### Post date: [May 27, 2016, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/transportation-of-patients-body-from-surgery-to-morgue/755833/2 "2016-05-27T17:39:39Z")
In the UK, it would be a hospital porter - who else?. They have special gurneys for the job so that the body is kept out of sight.No different if you die in a bed.
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### Author:  [@DRW1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DRW1)
#### Post date: [May 27, 2016, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/transportation-of-patients-body-from-surgery-to-morgue/755833/3 "2016-05-27T17:56:46Z")
Thanks, bob++
So, would the nurse call the porter? And would she call the morgue as well to let them know a body is going to be delivered over there?
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### Author:  [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)
#### Post date: [May 27, 2016, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/transportation-of-patients-body-from-surgery-to-morgue/755833/4 "2016-05-27T18:13:18Z")
> [@DRW1](#):
>
> Thanks, bob++
> So, would the nurse call the porter? And would she call the morgue as well to let them know a body is going to be delivered over there?
My Mother’s body wasn’t released until a physician came into the room and determined that she was, indeed, dead.
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### Author:  [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)
#### Post date: [May 28, 2016, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/transportation-of-patients-body-from-surgery-to-morgue/755833/5 "2016-05-28T00:55:53Z")
The same people who take patients to and from x-ray, physical therapy, etc. will take them to the morgue. In some large hospitals there are porters who do nothing but move patients around, in other hospitals it will be one of the aides assigned to that section.
As for who calls the morgue, in theory it’s the head nurse for that section. In real life it could be a nurse, an aide or a clerk – whoever has time to make the call.
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### Author:  [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)
#### Post date: [May 28, 2016, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/transportation-of-patients-body-from-surgery-to-morgue/755833/6 "2016-05-28T01:15:13Z")
> [@kunilou](#):
>
> whoever has time to make the call.
A person has died, and someone who has time from more important things?
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### Author:  [@USCDiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/USCDiver)
#### Post date: [May 28, 2016, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/transportation-of-patients-body-from-surgery-to-morgue/755833/7 "2016-05-28T01:22:37Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#):
>
> A person has died, and someone who has time from more important things?
Like taking care of the still alive sick people?
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### Author:  [@steatopygia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steatopygia)
#### Post date: [May 28, 2016, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/transportation-of-patients-body-from-surgery-to-morgue/755833/8 "2016-05-28T02:08:24Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#):
>
> A person has died, and someone who has time from more important things?
.
Yes, once someone has passed away, the level of urgency decreases.
Depending on location and circumstances, there can be quite a bit to do after a death.
In my state the organ donation group is called for all deaths. If the death was anything other than an expected death of a terminal or elderly person, the coroner is called.
If a non coroner case the funeral home will be called.
Some morbid humor;
When you call the organ donation folks, you get a recording that starts out with
“If your patient has a pulse, please push 1…”
The local funeral homes rotate who gets called for people that haven’t designated a funeral home. They are listed on our call list as the
“Funeral home of the month”.
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### Author:  [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)
#### Post date: [May 28, 2016, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/transportation-of-patients-body-from-surgery-to-morgue/755833/9 "2016-05-28T02:10:22Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#):
>
> A person has died, and someone who has time from more important things?
Let’s say more _urgent_ things.
“I know you’re a post-operative heart patient with an incision running the entire length of your chest, and you’re in severe pain and should be getting your morphine, but I have to call the morgue to tell them a patient who isn’t going anywhere will be brought down as soon as I can free up an aide who’s currently cleaning up a 275-pound stroke patient who just crapped himself.”
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### Author:  [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)
#### Post date: [May 28, 2016, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/transportation-of-patients-body-from-surgery-to-morgue/755833/10 "2016-05-28T02:38:22Z")
> [@kunilou](#):
>
> Let’s say more _urgent_ things.
Certainly a better way of phrasing it.
Things didn’t seem terribly urgent the last time I was unfortunate enough to be in a hospital. I wish I had known that the beeping no one came to check was my morphine pump not working. 🙂
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### Author:  [@Snnipe\_70E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snnipe_70E)
#### Post date: [May 28, 2016, 6:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/transportation-of-patients-body-from-surgery-to-morgue/755833/11 "2016-05-28T06:06:42Z")
> [@DRW1](#):
>
> Thanks, bob++
> So, would the nurse call the porter? And\*\* would she call the morgue \*\*as well to let them know a body is going to be delivered over there?
No point in calling the morgue. With few exceptions the morgue is not manned.
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### Author:  [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)
#### Post date: [May 28, 2016, 7:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/transportation-of-patients-body-from-surgery-to-morgue/755833/12 "2016-05-28T07:11:22Z")
> [@Snnipe\_70E](#):
>
> No point in calling the morgue. With few exceptions the morgue is not manned.
Not with the living, anyway.
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### Author:  [@ASGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASGuy)
#### Post date: [May 28, 2016, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/transportation-of-patients-body-from-surgery-to-morgue/755833/13 "2016-05-28T11:55:42Z")
There is a thread from May of 2014 that covers this. I don’t know how to make the link reference but the title is “In a hospital, how are dead bodies moved from the room to the morgue?” 26-May-2014.
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### Author:  [@Snnipe\_70E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snnipe_70E)
#### Post date: [May 28, 2016, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/transportation-of-patients-body-from-surgery-to-morgue/755833/14 "2016-05-28T13:29:27Z")
> [@panache45](#):
>
> Not with the living, anyway.
I almost posted “no one in the morgue can answer the phone”.
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### Author:  [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)
#### Post date: [May 28, 2016, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/transportation-of-patients-body-from-surgery-to-morgue/755833/15 "2016-05-28T18:21:52Z")
> **[Death and removal of the body](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=636819)**
>
> A friend’s mother died last weekend. When the guy from the mortuary came to collect the body from the hospice, the attendant had her leave the room while the guy did his thing. Apparently they wrap the body up quite tightly to get it on the...
> **[Are hospital morgues staffed 24 hours?](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=762940)**
>
> Just wondering if there is always someone in the hospital morgue waiting to retrieve a dead body? How does that all work, you know, getting the bodies into the morgue? Can any doctor do it or only specified hospital morgue employees? Thank you kindly...
> **[How long can a person survive in a morgue fridge?](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=695636)**
>
> The average temperature inside a morgue fridge is 2 to 4 degree celsius. Thanks. Assuming average body size and weight.
> **[After the Death](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=12749)**
>
> What do they do with the body immediately after a hospital death? Is it sent directly to the funeral home (autopsy is unnecessary)? Or do they do ‘stuff’ to it at the hospital first? If a person dies in the hospital, do they park the body in some...
> **[N.A. & S.A.](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=15480)**
>
> Two questions here: I know the N.A. you see at the end of some businesses’ names (banks are all I can think of right now) stands for National Association (or, at least, that’s what a banker told me). But what does that mean in terms of the business’...
> **[Are hospital morgues really located on the ground floor?](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=560166)**
>
> I’ve been to the ground level of many hospitals and have never located a morgue. Are morgues advertised as such in hospitals? Or could they be on another floor or sealed off wing or something?
> **[In a hospital, how are dead bodies moved from the room to the morgue?](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=724462)**
>
> I don’t need an answer fast, its just curiosity because I just finished watching Re-animator again. I know that its just a vid based on a hundred year old story, but I’d guess that it would really upset other patients to see sheet draped bodies being...
Been there, done that.
Credit SD in author acknowledgements, OK?
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### Author:  [@Clark\_Cello](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clark_Cello)
#### Post date: [May 28, 2016, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/transportation-of-patients-body-from-surgery-to-morgue/755833/16 "2016-05-28T18:50:15Z")
I know I have posted in one or two of the previous threads on this.
Most of what has been said here is correct. The answer to this question will vary from hospital to hospital depending on size and a few other factors.
The hospital I worked at was relatively small, less than 200 beds. I worked in the sterile supply area. We were responsible for the sterilization of supplies, and the distribution of supplies and drugs. There were usually 3 or 4 people there, and we would make delivery rounds on the hour, as well as emergency ones when required.
Our other job was picking up bodies and delivering them to the morgue. When someone died, the nursing staff prepped the body and wrapped it in this translucent sheeting. Then they called us and told us to come pick it up. We had a special cart that looked similar to this one:
[https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0281/1302/products/Covered\_600039.jpg?v=1464037369](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0281/1302/products/Covered_600039.jpg?v=1464037369)
We would transfer the body from the bed to the cart, then transport it to the morgue, where we put it on one of the morgue carts. The morgue was just a very cold room, maybe 200 or 300 square feet total. No one was there on a permanent basis. It was just there to store the bodies until picked up, in almost all cases, by the funeral home (most of the folks who died at my hospital were old and died of natural causes). I worked 8 hour shifts, and would probably say that I would get a body call on a third to a half of them, so we probably had somewhere around 7 to 10 people die a week.
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### Author:  [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)
#### Post date: [May 28, 2016, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/transportation-of-patients-body-from-surgery-to-morgue/755833/17 "2016-05-28T18:51:26Z")
Booty call?
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### Author:  [@Clark\_Cello](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clark_Cello)
#### Post date: [May 28, 2016, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/transportation-of-patients-body-from-surgery-to-morgue/755833/18 "2016-05-28T21:20:25Z")
> [@Leo\_Bloom](#):
>
> Booty call?
These were unfortunately significantly rarer. ☹