05 June 2002

Human Organs report to be implemented in full

The Minister for Health, Social Services and Public Safety, Bairbre de Brún, has announced that she is to fully implement the recommendations of the Human Organs Inquiry and publish the report.

The Inquiry was set up in March 2001 in response to concerns over past practice in post mortems, organ removal, retention and disposal.

In a statement to the Assembly, Ms de Brún said: “It is now nearly 15 months since I announced the establishment of the Human Organs Inquiry. At the time, I was struck by the importance of taking urgent action to support the rights and expectations of families who had been touched by the intense sadness of the death of a loved one, and to make sure that they were not set aside or ignored. I also wanted rebuild public confidence in the procedures surrounding post mortems.

“Past practice involving the removal and retention of organs did not give families the opportunity to provide informed consent and, consequently, has led to much additional grief and suffering. The impact of past practice in this area, has affected the lives of many ordinary people here.

“It was to draw a line under past practices and to develop a firm framework for shaping future practice, that I established a statutory Inquiry. The resultant Inquiry was not an easy task and my gratitude goes out to the Inquiry team, who took up the challenge with energy, integrity and sympathy. They actively engaged with families who had been affected by former practices and they were industrious in establishing the facts and devising solutions to developing better future practice."

Ms de Brun said that having given careful consideration to the Inquiry’s report, she intended to repeal the Human Tissue Act, issue guidelines on the future use of blocks and slides, and ask that Trusts should introduce agreed uniform consent forms.

The Minister added that she was also committed to meeting the Inquiry’s recommendations on training and to developing a public awareness programme later in the year.

She pledged to write to all Trust Chairs, asking them to review their arrangements for dealing with crises to ensure that they have plans in place to respond quickly, effectively and appropriately to any sudden requirements.

(SP)