Hospitals and universities still holding 21,000 organs

An audit of organ retention in Ireland has found that more than 21,000 organs are being retained in hospitals and universities in the State.

Most of those relate to the period before the organ retention controversy arose more than nine years ago, however the report has found specific issues exist at the Rotunda Hospital in Dublin in relation to consent.

In 1999 and 2000 there was public outrage regarding organ retention at hospitals in Ireland - this led to the Madden report into post mortem practice and procedures.

The report recommended a national audit be carried out and this has now been completed by a team - led by Dr Michaela Willis, a former member of the Human Tissue Authority in the UK.

The audit found that there are more than 21,000 organs retained in hospitals and universities, 78% relate to the pre-2000 period with just more than 2,200 relating to the time since then.

It found that procedures and practices in post-mortem services have improved, but found specific issues at the Rotunda Hospital in Dublin.

It discovered weaknesses in consent policy and documentation, variations between the terms of the consent given by families and the post-mortems carried out, delays in carrying out examinations and delays in implementing family instructions for respectful burial of organs and tissues.

Both the HSE and the Rotunda are announced dedicated phone lines to support families affected by the issues in this report.

The HSE free phone is 1800 670 700 while the Rotunda line is 1800 303 265.