Since 1986 the country of France has banned the embalming of bodies of those who have been known to host the HIV virus.  On Thursday, July 20, 2017, that ban was lifted according to an article we found in The Local, France’s English language paper.

According to the article embalming is generally done on about 1/3 of the deaths in France.  However, those with HIV/AIDS have not been allowed to have their bodies embalmed due to potential concerns over disease transmission during the process since 1986.

The article also states that since the known onset of the disease there are no known cases in Europe of embalmers becoming infected by HIV in the course of their work.  The prohibition on embalming, however, remains in place for several diseases including cholera, rabies, and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.

Funeral Director Daily take:  This article takes me back to the 1980s and what we were thinking in those days.  I’ve never claimed to be the best embalmer in the region, but I do, specifically remember the first known case of HIV/AIDS that I handled and how I was nervous over the situation.  I was single at the time and the case also taught me something very important — the love of a father for their child.

Our funeral home is in rural Minnesota and HIV/AIDS was only something we had heard about on the news — not something close to home.  I knew the parents and one day they walked into the funeral home and sat down with me.  They told me that their son, who had been living in New York had came home to live, and die, in their care.  They were very upfront — they told me  — be careful when you come for him because he has AIDS.

I was ready because my training had taught me how to deal with this — treat every body as it has a transmittable disease and you won’t have to treat any body special — you will always be taking the right precautions.  As fate would have it, I was on duty when the call came in the middle of the afternoon to go to the home and make the removal.  I knocked on the door and heard a voice say, “Come on in, it is open”.  I opened the door into the living area and there was the father, sobbing,  seated in a chair with his emaciated, deceased son being held in his lap.  My immediate thought was, “Oh my God, he is not using any precautions”.

I removed the body, did the embalming, and served the family.  I can still go to the cemetery and show you where that young man is buried.

It’s been over thirty years since that day —  several years later I served the family again when the loving father died.  I’ve became a father of boys myself — they are 23 and 19 years old.

That HIV/AIDS death was a day I learned something.  I think about that day often.  It’s funny what you learn as you go through life and serve families.  I didn’t learn about disease precaution or the HIV/AIDS virus  — what I learned about that day, and can relate to today, is the love a father has for his children.[wpforms id=”436″ title=”true” description=”true”]