Long-awaited report into incineration of 18 babies' organs being finalised

The report was expected in October or November 2021

Families protested outside Cork University Maternity Hospital over June at the delay in providing them with the report.

A report into the incineration of 18 babies' organs without the permission or knowledge of their parents is currently being finalised.

Correspondence received by the 18 families on Thursday notified them that the review undertaken following the incineration of organs from Cork University Maternity Hospital in Antwerp in 2020 is now being finalised by the review team.

The review was commissioned by Cork University Hospital in May 2020 to establish the circumstances leading to the incineration of the organs. However, the review did not commence until April last year.

A report arising out of the review was expected in October or November 2021 and families protested outside Cork University Maternity Hospital over June at the delay in providing them with the report.

The families have now been told that they will be contacted as soon as a specific date has been finalised for the provision of the report to them.

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 also 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 postmortem examinations."

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

According to HSE standards, organs retained after postmortem should be sensitively disposed of by burial or cremation only. The organs of the 18 babies were initially stored in the morgue at Cork University Hospital after being released by the pathology department following postmortem examinations.

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.