Statutory inquiry demanded into removal of brains without consent

A STATUTORY inquiry has been demanded into revelations that hundreds of brains from deceased adults were removed for research purposes without consent.

Parents for Justice, the organisation set up to seek answers to the unauthorised removal of organs from dead children by hospital authorities, called on Health Minister Micheál Martin to immediately put the Dunne Inquiry, currently investigating post mortem practice, on a legal footing following the latest revelations.

As revealed on Irishhealth.com, the brains of hundreds of dead adults, including victims of suicide and depression, were removed in at least five major hospitals without the consent of next of kin. At least one university still has such brains in storage for medical research.