Two hospitals admit to supplying glands

TWO more hospitals have revealed they supplied pituitary glands from deceased patients to pharmaceutical companies, bringing to 22 the number of hospitals that have admitted their involvement so far.

The country's largest acute hospital, St James' in Dublin city centre, and St Vincent's University Hospital in South Dublin, both confirmed they supported the practice of using human glands to make growth hormone for the treatment of children with growth deficiencies.

Neither hospital would say how many deceased patients' bodies were used in this way or how many they had been able to positively identify so that the information could be passed to their next of kin.