A woman who is seeking information about what happened to her baby girl's body after she died has been invited to meet the management at the State's largest hospital. The baby girl, who was born prematurely in early 1980 at St James's Hospital, Dublin, died shortly afterwards and was taken for a post-mortem. The woman is understood never to have seen her baby and believes she was not sent for burial.
A hospital spokesman confirmed yesterday that this was "a genuine case" and said the woman had been invited to private discussions to discuss her concerns.
He said he could not comment on the details of the case. He was not aware of any further cases at the hospital.
According to a newspaper report yesterday, inquiries made to the hospital, Dublin cemeteries and the Eastern Health Board had shed no light on the whereabouts of the baby's body.
A letter received by the woman from the hospital's social work section told her that the hospital chaplain was unable to find her daughter's baptismal details. "I can only imagine the need you have to know where your little baby is buried," the letter said.
A spokesman for the Minister for Health, Mr Martin, said last night: "We have been in contact with St James's and have sought a full report".
The case is likely to add to the controversy over the retention of children's organs by hospitals after post-mortem without the knowledge of families. Mr Martin is to set up an inquiry to investigate all post-mortem examinations, organ removal, organ retention and organ disposal at Our Lady's Hospital for Sick Children, Dublin.
The hospital has confirmed that pituitary glands from dead children had been used to supply pharmaceutical firms. Other hospitals are still examining their records, and the scope of the inquiry may be widened.