Ante-Mortem Data (AMD)
Definition
Information gathered from families and other sources about a missing person before their remains are identified: physical descriptions, medical and dental records, clothing and personal effects, and DNA reference samples from relatives. The foundation of any victim identification process.
- Includes
- Descriptions, medical/dental records, effects, DNA references
- Gathered from
- Families and other sources before identification
- Foundation for
- Victim identification process
- Context
- Ethics and human-rights obligations in identification
Common questions
What ethical obligations attach specifically to collecting AMD from families?+
Interviewers are expected to obtain informed consent, explain how the data and DNA samples will be used and stored, and avoid causing further harm during what is often the family's first structured contact after a disappearance or mass-casualty event.
Why can incomplete or inaccurate AMD undermine an identification effort?+
A comparison is only as good as the reference it is matched against, so a misremembered dental history or an outdated photograph can lead to a missed match or, in the worst case, contribute to a misidentification.
Related terms
- Dignity of Remains
- The ethical principle that human remains should be handled with care and respect regardless of the circumstances of death or the condition...
- ICRC
- The International Committee of the Red Cross, an independent humanitarian organisation that has developed widely referenced guidelines on the handling of the...
- Repatriation
- The return of human remains, or cultural objects associated with those remains, to the country, community, or family from which they originate....
- Secondary Context
- A location where remains have been deposited after being moved from the primary deposition site. Non-disturbance of secondary contexts means not excavating...
- Victim Family Liaison
- The structured process of maintaining communication between an investigation team and the relatives of victims or missing persons. Effective liaison involves both...