Death Certificates/Cause of Death

Gayle Stasiak

After my son was diagnosed with colon cancer, I obtained Death Certificates of his paternal grandfather and great grandfather. Both died of metastatic colon cancer. Two of his first cousins died this year with the same diagnosis. It could be life-saving if such data were freely available to the public. It is available to the public twenty five years after a person is deceased, for a fee. Genetic testing is available that could lead to timely diagnosis. The Family Search community could be on the leading edge for this advancement.

Áine Ní Donnghaile

Each state has different laws about what vital records are available to the public. FamilySearch has to abide by those laws/regulations.

The organization https://www.reclaimtherecords.org/ is working to make more records public across the country.