Organs taken without consent, says group
The group, which has demanded a statutory inquiry into the unauthorised removal of organs from the deceased, said the practice goes back decades.
“We have spoken to thousands of families since Parents for Justice was set up three and a half years ago. It is clear that anywhere in the State that a post-mortem was carried out in the last 30 years, organs were removed without consent. Not one family who contacted us told us otherwise,” said spokeswoman Fionnuala O’Reilly.
She said the group had been inundated with calls since weekend revelations that the brains of suicide victims and those suffering from depression had been removed for research.
Five hospitals, including St Vincent’s, St James’s, the Beaumont, Cork University Hospital and University College Hospital Galway, admitted to brain removal from the deceased.
Ms O’Reilly said there was huge concern among those whose relatives had died in mental institutions or from mental illnesses. She said families with concerns should write to or telephone the hospitals in question and demand to talk to the chief executive.
Parents for Justice will meet Health Minister Mícheál Martin today to seek additional funding for counselling for families affected by organ removal.
The group was given 309,000 last year, but Ms O’Reilly said they want funding for five years. However she said she feared the group’s decision last year to withdraw from the Dunne Inquiry into post-mortems could jeopardise Government assistance.
Parents for Justice withdrew when the minister refused to put the inquiry on a statutory footing. The latest revelations have led to renewed demands for a statutory inquiry. Parents for Justice has already told the Minister it will take legal proceedings against the State over the organ retention scandal.
Fine Gael TD Dan Neville will request a full statement in relation to the matter in the Dáil today.
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