Four years of inquiry costing €15m and parents still don’t have answers

THE Dunne Inquiry into organ retention by hospitals began hearings in March 2001, two years after the issue became a heated public controversy.

In 1999, it emerged that a child’s organs were taken in 1985 following a post mortem at Our Lady’s Hospital for Sick Children in Crumlin, allegedly without the family’s consent.

After that incident, more than 2,000 other cases came to light.

The first submissions to the Dunne Inquiry were made by support group Parents for Justice (PFJ), which requested that their presentation be heard in public.

The inquiry, chaired by Anne Dunne SC, was established by the Minister for Health, Micheál Martin, to examine post mortem policy, practice and procedure in the State since 1970 and how it related to organ removal, retention and disposal.

To date, the cost of the inquiry into the retention of organs in hospitals without permission has risen to over €15m.

An interim report, dealing with the retention of organs in paediatric hospitals, is expected to be completed later this year.

More than 2,500 families claim the organs of their children were taken after post mortem and retained for research and, in some cases, supplied to drug companies for the manufacture of human growth hormones. Some were sent for incineration, others can no longer be located and some organs have been returned to families for burial.

In January 2001, a national counselling service was put in place for all those affected by the organ retention controversy, following talks between the minister and PFJ.

At that time the parents’ group said it was frustrated by many of the answers coming from the Department of Health, especially those relating to the destruction of hospital records.

The department said its policy of disposing of records was due to the lack of storage space.

The department revealed it has none of the records prior to 1989 and those relating to 1993 were destroyed in a flood. This claim has been disputed by PFJ.

In October 2002, PFJ withdrew its participation with the Dunne Inquiry, demanding a statutory inquiry be set up into the scandal. Such an inquiry would have powers to compel witnesses to attend and to make orders for the discovery of documents.

About 100 families are now understood to be taking legal action against hospitals arising out of the organ retention controversy. Yesterday’s case could have a bearing on some of those cases.