Parents 'devastated' by organ removals

Alde Hey hospital began the review in June

The parents of children whose organs were removed by a Liverpool hospital say they are devastated by reports that doctors retained brain tissue without their consent.

Alder Hey Children's Hospital, which was criticised for storing the organs of dead children without permission last year, has admitted that it has found more body parts.

The hospital said an internal review had disclosed that the organs of 146 more children had been retained without the permission of parents.

The hospital is trying to contact the parents to tell them that their children's organs were removed.

Among those being contacted are the parents of 62 children who telephoned the hospital last year after the first cases of retained organs emerged.

They were told, at the time, that none of their children's organs had been removed.

We wonder how much more parents will have to take

Ed Bradley, PITY II

The hospital will also contact the parents of 58 other children who had been told that some organs were retained but had not been told that this included brain tissue.

The parents of a further 26 parents will be learning for the first time that their children were involved.

Others will be told that their children may have been involved but that the organs have deteriorated to such an extent that there is no way of tracing them or identifying which children they belonged to.

Regret

In a statement, the hospital said it regretted the distress it had caused parents.

"The fact that this had not been previously catalogued came to light during this exercise.

"The University and the Trust deeply regret this situation and are working together to try and reduce the distress caused to parents," it said.

But parents have hit out at this latest admission.

Ed Bradley, acting chairman of the parents' support group PITY II, said parents were devastated.

"Parents are constantly being battered by new disasters and we wonder how much more parents will have to take.

"Alder Hey has constantly told us that we have all the information and they are telling us the truth. Then we find out that there is more.

"As well as this it looks like the university has not been open with ourselves or Alder Hey," added Mr Bradley, whose daughter Niamh died 10 years ago, aged just 38 days.

"What other research has been carried out without parents' knowledge?" he asked.

Seriously concerned

Solicitor Ian Cohen, who represents the group, said he was seriously concerned about the affect of the latest revelations on some parents.

"I am appalled that we are 10 months on and new damaging information is coming out of Alder Hey.

"I have very serious concerns as to how much certain parents are able to take.

"Steps must be taken to make sure there are not fresh revelations coming out on a monthly basis as has occurred so far."

The hospital review, which began in June, discovered a collection of 146 cerebella - part of the brain at the base of the skull.

The hospital said the brain tissue had been removed from children during post mortem examinations between 1990 and 1995.

The tissue was subsequently used by Liverpool University as part of a research study.

It is understood that the research has never been published.

The hospital is currently the subject of an independent inquiry ordered by Health Secretary Alan Milburn.