'It could still be happening now': Parents demand action on bill to stop infant organs being sent abroad

Perinatal organs belonging to 18 babies were sent from CUMH to Belgium for incineration without the consent or knowledge of their parents.

The organs of infants could still be sent abroad for incineration without the knowledge of their parents, unless the Human Tissue Bill is enacted quickly.

That is according to Laura Kelleher, whose daughter, Hope, was stillborn at Cork University Maternity Hospital in November 2019. In September 2021, it emerged that perinatal organs belonging to Hope and 17 other babies were sent from CUMH to Belgium for incineration without the consent or knowledge of their parents, in late March and early April 2020. The move was made to free up space at the hospital morgue because of the possibility of increased deaths because of Covid-19.