United Kingdom

A coroner has warned that further babies could die unless the government introduces regulation of non-therapeutic male circumcision following the death of a six-month-old boy in west London.

Non-therapeutic circumcision is the removal of the foreskin of male babies and young children for religious or cultural reasons, rather than medical reasons.

Mohamed Abdisamad was circumcised on 12 February 2023, by a circumciser who had been recommended to his parents and requested by them to perform the procedure on their son, the West London Coroner's report said.

The baby began showing symptoms of illness three to four days later and was taken to hospital on 19 February and died the same day.

He was taken to Hillingdon Hospital by ambulance where he went into cardiorespiratory arrest and was pronounced dead at 23:55 GMT.

A jury inquest which concluded on 8 October 2025 found the medical cause of death to be an "invasive streptococcus pyogenes infection following male circumcision".