Parents want answers on removal of organs after post-mortem

Parents of children whose brains were removed after post-mortem without their permission have called on the investigating team…

Parents of children whose brains were removed after post-mortem without their permission have called on the investigating team to "stop fobbing them off" and give them concrete answers.

Last month it emerged that the brains of four victims of a road accident in 1998 had been removed after the coroner's post-mortem at St Columcille's Hospital, Co Dublin, and sent to another hospital. The East Coast Health Board is investigating the incident.

"Our GP was notified of this on May 24th and we are no further on now," Mr John Byrne said yesterday. His two daughters died in the accident.

Mr Byrne said he and other parents were very unhappy with the pace of the investigation. Families received a letter this week from the health board saying it would be happy to meet them once its investigation was complete.

Last week a health board spokeswoman confirmed that the organs had been sent for further examination by a neuropathologist to determine the exact cause of death. She said this was at the coroner's direction.

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Alison Healy

Alison Healy

Alison Healy is a contributor to The Irish Times