Parents' anger over organ retention report

Parents of children whose organs were retained without permission by Irish hospitals tonight branded a report into the scandal…

Parents of children whose organs were retained without permission by Irish hospitals tonight branded a report into the scandal as fundamentally flawed.

Charlotte Yeates, from the group Parents for Justice, said the Health Minister had refused attempts to bring all the information in respect of organ retention and disposal of pituitary glands out into the public.

"This was a flawed report from the outset as it didn't involve still-born children, minors or adults," she said.

"The Tanaiste has indicated that this report answers the questions of parents and next-of-kin, but it is the view of the executive of Parents for Justice that it is fundamentally flawed and fails to do so."

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She said the group no longer had any faith in the Tánaiste, the Health Department or the Government to devlier appropriate and effective solutions to the organ retention scandal.

"From what we have read, we believe this report is a review of a limited number of documents. The Government sought to curtail a proper investigation by setting up alternative structures, which is a reading of a cold set of documents," she said.

Ms Yeates said the report from Dr Deirdre Madden on Post Mortem Practice and Procedures does not give an adequate indication of how many pituitary glands were involved.

"It is clear from the content of the report that successive ministers through the Department of Health have been aware of the practice of disposal of pituitary glands to Pharmaceutical Companies for more than 24 years and were receiving money for this sale," she said.

Ms Yeates said the principal reason for the scandal was the failure of successive governments to legislate on the matter of post mortems.

"The anxiety, stress, grief and trauma and everything else that ensued for our members was as a direct result of this failure to legislate. We demand that long-awaited legislation be enacted as a matter of urgency to avoid the repetition of the mistakes of the past," she said.

"We know from speaking to our members how deeply hurt they are. This could have been avoided if legislation was enacted in time."

Ms Yeates said the group hoped this type of scandal would never arise again. But she said they were still awaiting the legislation promised in 2000 by then Health Minister Micheal Martin that human tissue legislation would be put in place.

"So we are hoping now that on foot of this report we will receive that legislation," she said.

Parents for Justice, which represents 1,000 family members, said the Tanaiste had refused to facilitate access to information in respect of organ retention and disposal of pituitary glands to any person requesting it.

"The Tanaiste has already refused a request from this organisation which would have lead to openness and transparency on this issue for many Irish citizens who are unaware that it affects them," she said.

Ms Yeates said the group could not as yet give any further details on the report's recommendations as the Health Department had refused their request to receive the report 24-hours in advance.