‘No foul play’ in removing man’s organs in Bulgaria

THE Department of Foreign Affairs has said there is no evidence of foul play in the treatment of an Irish man whose remains were returned from Bulgaria stuffed with sawdust in place of his internal organs.

An inquiry got under way late last year after the family of the young man, who died of natural causes last October, discovered that his body was not intact when his coffin was flown back home.

Initially there were fears that he might have fallen victim to criminal elements believed to be involved in illegal organ harvesting in certain Eastern European countries for wealthy transplant patients abroad.

However, Irish Embassy staff in the Bulgarian capital, Sofia, managed to track down the missing organs with the help of local hospital authorities and secured their return to the family for burial last November.

They have since satisfied themselves that there was nothing suspicious about the way the man’s remains were treated. A spokesman at the Department of Foreign Affairs confirmed yesterday: “Contacts between the Embassy of Ireland in Sofia and the Bulgarian authorities have not revealed any evidence of illegal activity.”

It emerged that organ removal and the packing of body cavities with sawdust is the standard procedure in numerous countries when remains are being prepared for repatriation overseas.

The inquiry is now concentrating on how to make Bulgarian procedures acceptable throughout the rest of the European Union. A working group has been set up at EU level and is due to report later this year.

Bulgaria, which formally joined the EU on January 1, is co-operating with the move. The Bulgarian Minister for Health had already issued a directive that would ensure that all organs are returned with the body following autopsy.

The dead man, who lived in London but was an Irish citizen and passport holder, had been on holiday in a coastal resort of eastern Bulgaria when he died.

His family, who requested anonymity, were said to be deeply shocked at his death and further distressed when they discovered the condition of his remains which they feared suggested he had been tampered with for nefarious purposes.