'The guilt will never leave me', says mother whose daughter's organs were incinerated

Families still waiting for copy of report  to examine why  incineration occurred without either the knowledge or consent of the children’s parents

Laura and Fintan Kelleher, who live in Australia, are among 18 families whose babies’s organs were sent to Belgium from Cork University Maternity Hospital for incineration in 2020, without their permission or knowledge.

The mother of one of 18 babies whose organs were sent abroad from a Cork hospital for incineration says she suffers huge guilt about sending her daughter’s remains for a postmortem examination.

Laura and Fintan Kelleher, who live in Australia, are among 18 families whose babies’ organs were sent to Belgium from Cork University Maternity Hospital for incineration in 2020, without their parents’ permission or knowledge. Their stillborn baby girl, Hope, was delivered at the hospital on November 3, 2019.

They and the other 17 families are still awaiting a copy of a report by a review team set up to examine why the incineration occurred without either the knowledge or consent of the children’s parents.

The report was expected in October or November 2021.

Laura said: “After finding out what happened, the guilt I have for sending Hope for a postmortem that day will never leave Fintan and myself as she was just perfect.” 

She said the fear of knowing it can still happen to other families means “the pain will never go away”.

The Kellehers and the other affected families want the Human Tissue Bill to be enacted as soon as possible, to give a legislative framework for the retention and disposal of organs following post-mortem examinations.

The legislation is expected to be published before the end of this Dáil term, according to the Department of Health.

Laura added: “We need this bill to be signed off so that it can never happen again to anybody, big or small.” 

Sinn Féin TD Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire described the delay in providing the families with the report of the review group as “shocking and completely unacceptable.” 

He said: “These are all families that lost babies in tragic circumstances and who opted for post-mortem examinations to help them get answers as to why those babies died. They signed a consent form saying that organs had to be disposed of in a sensitive manner by burial or cremation; and that they would be contacted before that could happen. 

That did not occur, and it is a really shocking incident for babies' organs to be disposed of along with medical waste.” 

According to internal correspondence, mortuary staff at CUH became aware early in 2020 that its burial plot in Curraghkippane’s St Mary’s Cemetery was full. The organs were sent for incineration in late March and early April 2020.

Families were told in recent weeks they would receive a copy of the draft report into how the organs were sent for incineration abroad by “mid–late September”.

However, in correspondence sent on September 30, the families were told: “The hospital has decided to provide the final report to all the families at the same time to prevent a situation whereby some families may become aware of the report indirectly rather than from the hospital. This will occur over the coming weeks.” 

The families have been asked how they wish to receive the report “such as meeting in person with the hospital to go through the report or by registered post”.

A spokesman for the South/South West Hospital Group said a date for when the report would be issued to families “will depend on when the final report is received”.