International authorities have expressed concerns following the return of a mother’s body to her home country from a vacation in Turkey, with her heart reportedly missing.
A British family has described experiencing profound trauma after a young mother of two, Beth Martin, passed away during a holiday in Turkey and her body was repatriated without her heart.
Beth fell ill on her flight on April 27 and was immediately taken to Marmara University Hospital in Istanbul upon arrival.
Unfortunately, the 28-year-old passed away a few days later. Her husband, Luke, who was traveling with her and their two young children, aged eight and five, has accused the hospital of removing her heart without providing any explanation or obtaining consent.
The Turkish Ministry of Health has since issued a statement on the incident, reporting that Beth died of “cardiac arrest due to multiple organ failures,” as per the Daily Mail.
The Ministry has also noted that Beth underwent no surgical procedures during the initial post-mortem at the hospital, although it has not clarified whether such a procedure occurred when she was transferred to the Forensic Medicine Institute for a follow-up examination.
The statement reads: “The patient was recorded in the hospital records as a ‘forensic case’ in line with the statement of Martin’s wife that they may have been poisoned by a meal they ate in their country before the trip, and the initial findings.”
“A preliminary autopsy [without incision] was performed at the hospital in accordance with the forensic case procedure and his wife’s request in this regard.
“The exact cause of Martin’s death could not be determined with the current findings in the preliminary autopsy, which was carried out with the participation of the Public Prosecutor and the forensic medicine doctor.
“Beth Martin did not undergo any surgical procedures during her treatment at the hospital, and there was no question of any organs being removed.”
Despite the official statements, Beth’s family still seeks clarity and answers.
Luke alleged that he was prevented from visiting Beth while she was in intensive care and expressed concerns that the hospital might have administered penicillin, despite his warnings about her allergy to it.
Authorities also questioned Luke about whether he had poisoned his wife, and he was informed of her death through a written statement after his questioning.
He further claims he was only given “one minute, no more” with Beth in the morgue and had to carry her body bag through the hospital with the help of a translator.
There was another struggle to bring Beth’s body home, where British coroners discovered her heart was missing.
A GoFundMe page has been set up for the family, alleging that the Turkish hospital removed the organ without explanation or consent.
A medical negligence investigation has been initiated against The Marmara Pendik hospital concerning Beth’s unexplained death. The investigation by English coroners into the cause of her organ failure may take up to six months.
In a Facebook post, Luke shared: “It has been the worst and most traumatic week of my entire life, and to top it off.. I had to break the news to my babies that their mum is not coming home, it broke me.”
The GoFundMe campaign has raised £256,020 (approximately $346,753) at the time of writing, and donations can be made here.