The University of Calabar Teaching Hospital (UCTH) has given families until 21 October to claim unidentified corpses currently held in its mortuary.
The hospital management announced the deadline as part of a strategy to ease the growing pressure on its mortuary facilities. Following the deadline, the institution will proceed with a mass burial of all remains that have not been identified or claimed by relatives.
According to reports regarding the announcement, some of the bodies preserved at the facility have been in storage for more than a decade.
Pressure on hospital mortuary services
The accumulation of unclaimed bodies has created significant logistical and financial challenges for the teaching hospital. Maintaining long-term storage requires uninterrupted power for refrigeration and constant administrative management, both of which strain the institution’s resources. This overcrowding also restricts the hospital’s ability to provide adequate space for new deceased patients, potentially impacting the quality of service for grieving families.
The buildup of unidentified remains often arises from various socio-economic factors, including accidents involving transient populations or individuals with limited social connections. In such instances, hospitals are frequently left with the responsibility of preserving remains indefinitely when no official link to a family is established by law enforcement or medical staff.
By implementing the 21 October deadline, UCTH intends to clear the existing backlog and restore efficient capacity to its morgue. The hospital’s decision highlights the administrative struggles faced by tertiary health institutions in managing the intersection of public health, security, and social welfare.
Families or individuals who believe they have a relative among the unclaimed remains are expected to present necessary identification and documentation to the hospital authorities before the deadline. Once the notice period expires, the hospital will carry out the mass burial as planned.
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