Indefinite leave for organ scandal doctor

Professor Van Velzen: Tissues are 'biopsy specimens'

The pathologist at the centre of the Alder Hey Children's Hospital organ scandal has been given indefinite leave from his job at a Dutch Hospital.

The Westeinde Hospital in the Hague said that Professor Dick Van Velzen was being allowed to stop work to 'clear his name' over the discovery last week of children's organs in a warehouse in Canada, where he had previously worked.

Professor Van Velzen has worked for the Dutch hospital for the past two years.

However, it has emerged that he failed to tell hospital authorities that he had been sacked from his previous job in Canada for incompetence.

Announcing the decision on Wednesday, the hospital stressed it was suspending judgement on Professor Van Velzen until the Redfern Inquiry into the Alder Hey matter is published.

A warrant for Professor Van Velzen's arrest was issued after eight organs thought to belong to two five-year-old children were found in a cardboard box at a storage facility in Nova Scotia.

But Professor Van Velzen maintains he has done nothing wrong.

Specimens

He said the organs were "surgical biopsy specimens", sent to him from all over the world because of his work done on diseases.

"They were two surgical biopsy specimens a couple of inches long.

"Pieces of bowel that were removed from children at operation, and sent to me for my diagnosis and opinion."

"They have nothing to do with dead children whatsoever, post-mortems or any other things like that."

Canadian police said they were "98% certain" the organs were not of local origin.

Professor Van Velzen was the senior pathologist at Liverpool's Alder Hey from 1988 until 1995.

While he was in charge, the organs of more than 800 dead children were removed without their parents' knowledge or consent.

Alder Hey has admitted retaining 2,087 children's hearts before discovering organs from more than 800 children had been removed without the knowledge of doctors or parents.

Professor Van Velzen denied at the time that he had removed the organs so they could be used in his research.

The Alder Hey report is due to be published this autumn.