Plea over probe into human organs 'sale'

The Government was today urged to set up an investigation to probe the alleged sale of human organs to drug companies without families’ consent.

Campaign group Parents for Justice said it has received documentation under the Freedom of Information Act indicating money was exchanged for pituitary glands in the 1970s and 1980s.

The body was set up in the wake of the 1999 organ retention scandal in which it was revealed certain Irish hospitals had harvested the organs of dead children without parental approval.

The Health Service Executive (HSE) said an independent audit of organs retained in hospitals is being carried out and a report is expected to be produced this summer.

“We feel that this documentation indicates that payments were received by individuals for human pituitary glands,” Parents for Justice spokeswoman Charlotte Yeates said.

“We do know that it has been reported previously by hospitals that they received small donations or books in return for human pituitary glands.

“We now know that this was not the case,” she said.

The pituitary gland is located at the base of the brain and can be used by drugs firms to create a human growth hormone.

An inquiry was set up in the wake of the organ retention scandal led by lawyer Anne Dunne but no findings were published.

The Government asked legal expert Deirdre Madden to go through the evidence and produce a report, which in 2006 concluded that hospitals were paid a modest amount for the glands and did not benefit commercially.

The pressure group, which is now entirely self-financed after it claimed the HSE axed its funding, is now calling for the second phase of the inquiry to get under way urgently which would include the probe into the alleged payments.

“If pituitary glands or any other form of human tissue was sold without the knowledge or consent of families, this is of serious public interest,” Ms Yeates said.

“We are asking at this stage that the second phase of The Post Mortem Inquiry... be implemented without delay to give closure to the families who have been so dignified and patient to date.”

Ms Yeates also said the state was trying to make life difficult for the group in accessing information and they had no choice but to resort to FOI requests.

Some families have been forced to go through the courts to get the truth and have received letters urging them to withdraw their cases or face huge legal bills, she said.

A HSE spokesman said that in line with the recommendations of the Madden Report, an independent audit is being carried out documenting retained organs in each hospital.

The report will also contain recommendations on priorities for action at national level in relation to overall post mortem practice.

“It is hoped that this will inform the development of national standards,” a HSE spokesman said.

“The audit commenced in July 2007 and it is expected that a report will be produced this summer.