Families

The Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine offers a range of information and services for family members.

Services such as grief counselling, DNA paternity and sibling testing and information about tissue donation will be of interest to families.  Information is also available about areas of interest such as health and privacy.

	Grief Counselling		Bereaved family members or friends who have had contact with the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine may require grief counselling. The Coronial Services Centre of Victoria provides this service.
	How can we help?		A death is a very traumatic event for a family and when a death is investigated by the coroner additional concerns may be raised
	How you can help us		In order to find out how a person died it is very important that as much information as possible is available concerning the medical history of the decased
	The autopsy		This page provides a brief introduction on the autopsy process within the Coroners jurisdiction
	Health issues		The pathology investigation can uncover a range of disease processes that may indicate a susceptibility to that disease in other family members
	Tissue Donation		Tissue donation involves the donation of heart valves, bone, skin, and corneas. DTBV staff evaluate the possibility of tissue donation on a case by case basis.
	Becoming a Donor		For those who are interested in becoming a tissue donor with the Tissue Bank of Victoria, there are a number of considerations.
	DNA/Paternity Services		The Molecular Biology section offers several DNA testing services including paternity testing, sibship analysis, DNA testing for immigration matters amongst other services.
	Reviewable Deaths		The Victorian Government has introduced a new system for dealing with multiple child deaths in one family. The legislation provides that where there has been a second or subsequent death of a child in a family, this death is termed a “reviewable death” and must be reported to the State Coroner. The State Coroner may refer a reviewable death case to the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine (“VIFM”) for investigation.
	Publications		A number of publications and reports have been produced by the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine and its staff and students.
	Privacy Issues		Summary of privacy issues at the VIFM