Irish consultant pathologists are expected to issue new guidelines on obtaining the consent of relatives for the use of human organs for research.
Discussions are taking place in the faculty of pathology at the Royal College of Physicians on issues relating to the retention of tissue and organs after a patient has died, and autopsy and consent procedures.
There has been public disquiet about the common practice in Irish hospitals of retaining organs after a post-mortem and about lack of clarity in some patient consent forms as to whether organs could be kept in this way.
Prof Eamonn Sweeney, dean of the faculty of pathology at the Royal College of Physicians in Ireland, said that the matter of retaining tissue and organs was under discussion.
The faculty members had not yet formed their own guidelines but they would be considering the subject and contacting all pathology laboratories.
"The matter is under consideration given the amount of public concern," he said.
The faculty would be the body to issue the guidelines and "I would hope that by the end of this year, guidelines will be issued."
Prof Sweeney said that they wanted to deal with this area of insensitivity, which had perhaps not been recognised.
The retention of tissue was part of good pathological practice for the benefit of patients. It was common practice in many hospitals.
The guidelines would be issued to all pathology departments in hospitals throughout the State.
However, he added that even though the faculty produced guidelines, it was up to individual hospitals to decide whether to adopt them or not.
One of the first hospitals to change its consent form has been Our Lady's Hospital for Sick Children in Crumlin. A spokeswoman said that there was a new consent form which was very explicit in getting the informed consent of a parent about retaining organs and tissue.
"It is very clear and really spells it out. Parents would be under no illusion as to what it meant," she said. The new form was brought in about three months ago.
The form had changed when the hospital decided to adopt new guidelines which were issued by the Royal College of Pathologists in Britain following the Bristol Infirmary inquiry.