§ Mr. FearnTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will investigate claims that children's organs were removed following their deaths without informed parental consent, and retained by medical staff at Alder Hey Children's Hospital on Merseyside. [99402]
§ Mr. DenhamIn October the former Secretary of State, my right hon. Friend the Member for Holborn and St. Pancras (Mr. Dobson) announced he would be launching an investigation into the retention of organs, following inquiries by Alder Hey Hospital which had revealed that in a number of cases, other organs as well as hearts were retained from children who underwent post mortems. He asked the Chief Medical Officer to conduct an investigation to look into what happened not just at Alder Hey Hospital, but in the country generally and its implications for the National Health Service as a whole. This investigation is under way.