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[Definitie:] "An ergogenic aid is any substance or phenomenon that enhances performance."
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Children's hospital gave tissue to pharmaceutical company
09 February 2000 The Department of Health has revealed that in the early 80s, Crumlin Children's Hospital gave tissue from children's brains to a pharmaceutical company in return for a donation to the hospital's research centre. In announcing an inquiry into organ retention and post mortem practices at the hospital, Minister for Health Mícheál Martin, revealed that in the early 1980s, the children's hospital gave pituitary glands from the brains of dead children to a pharmaceutical company for the manufacture of growth hormones, without parental knowledge. It has already emerged that the hospital had removed organs from dead children without their parents' knowledge and retained the organs after post mortems. Today, a spokesman for Our Lady's Hospital for Sick Children in Crumlin said their incomplete records show that between June 1980 and October 1981, pituitary glands of dead children's brains were removed and given to a pharmaceutical company to manufacture growth hormones for children. The records indicate that some 70 pituitary glands were provided. Two donations, worth a total of £109.50 were given to the Children's Research Centre in the hospital. The spokesman said there was no commercial practice involved, and it was an established practice at the time. The hospital welcomed the inquiry announced by the Minister. The spokesman said the hospital accepted that no informed consent was sought at the time, and regretted the hurt and pain caused. The spokesman said that the glands were accessed only when the brains were removed from the body for post mortem purposes. He said glands were not removed from the brain unless there was a diagnostic reason to access the brain. The glands were processed by the pharmaceutical company to manufacture a growth hormone, injected into children with short stature. This was the only treatment available at the time. In 1985, a new method of creating the hormone was developed in the United States, and the practice of using the pituitary glands was ended. The Parents for Justice support group has welcomed the news of the inquiry, but said they felt doubly betrayed by the latest revelations. Last year, the disclosure that organs were retained by Our Lady's Hospital without parental knowledge led to pressure from parents for a full inquiry into post mortem practices. Following a meeting with the support group, Parents for Justice, the Minister announced an inquiry into all issues relating to post mortem examinations, organ removal, organ retention and organ disposal, at Crumlin, and other hospitals if necessary. Mr Martin said the terms of reference for the inquiry are being finalised with the Attorney General and the support group, Parents for Justice. Company received brain tissue from several Irish hospitals
10 February 2000 It has emerged today that the pharmaceutical company which received brain tissue from Crumlin Hospital also received tissue from other Irish hospitals. The pharmaceutical company, now called Pharmacia & Upjohn, has also stated that the practice of receiving brain tissue from hospitals was in operation for eleven years. The company said in a statement this afternoon that human pituitary glands were received from hospitals between 1974 and 1985. The glands were used to create the hormone to treat children with growth hormone deficiency. The statement said the practice was discontinued in 1985, when a synthetic human growth hormone was developed. It emerged yesterday that the pharmaceutical company, then called Kabi-Vitrum, had received tissue from the brains of over 70 dead children from Crumlin Children's Hospital in Dublin in the early 1980s. This was done without the parents' knowledge or consent. This practice was revealed during an examination of hospital records, in response to queries about post mortem practices in the hospital by parents who discovered organs of their bereaved children had been retained without their knowledge. Today, it emerged that the practice was more widespread than previously believed. The Parents for Justice support group has received over 100 calls since the news about the use of brain tissue was revealed. A spokeswoman for the company involved said that more than one hospital was involved but would not say how many or who they were. The incomplete records of Crumlin hospital show that they provided glands to Kabi-Vitrum for two years in the early 1980s, and received just over £100 in donations to the Children's Research centre at the hospital. Kabi Vitrum is now called Pharmacia and Upjohn, a large international pharmaceutical company with origins in Sweden. It recently merged with the giant company, Monsanto. The new company will be called Pharmacia Inc. Children's Hospital announce investigation
11 February 2000 Temple Street Children's Hospital in Dublin has confirmed that it is investigating its records to discover whether human brain tissue was given to drug companies in the 1970s and 80s. Yesterday, an Irish based international drug company said that it had received human brain tissue from more than one hospital for eleven years to manufacture growth hormone. Michael Lyons Chief Executive of Tallaght Hospital incorporating the National Childrens Hospital said they have records of 28 post mortems carried out on children in the period 1977 to 1981.They found no evidence to suggest that pituitary glands were passed on to drug companies. He said they would continue to review their files. The Southern Health Board is undertaking a detailed search to ascertain if the removal of pituitary glands had ever taken place for pharmaceutical or commercial purposes. In a statement this evening, the Board said there is no immediate evidence to suggest such a practice occurred. Meanwhile, the professional body representing pathologists has issued new guidelines on post mortem consent. They recommend that specific consent should be required where organs are retained for teaching or research purposes. Limerick Hospital confirms giving brain tissue to pharmaceutical firm
12 February 2000 Limerick Regional Hospital has confirmed that it removed brain tissue from dead patients and gave it to a pharmaceutical firm. This follows revelations by an Irish based international drug company that it had received tissue from several hospitals to manufacture growth hormone. Temple Street Children's Hospital in Dublin has also confirmed that it is examining its records for information on the issue. New guidelines for post-mortem consent have been issued. Organ retention scandal to be examined by two-part inquiry
04 April 2000 The Minister for Health has announced a two-phase inquiry into organ retention practices in Irish hospitals, which will have wide discretionary powers to investigate the country's major hospitals. In a novel approach to the controversy over the retention of organs and post-mortem practices, the Department has proposed an initial private inquiry chaired by a senior counsel, followed by public hearings through an Oireachtas committee. The Minister has also set up a working group to put in train legislation on the retention and disposal of human tissue in Irish hospitals. Since the controversy over the retention of organs and post-mortem practices began last year, parents have wanted a full inquiry to find out why hospitals retained organs without their knowledge and what they did with them. The Department, though, was concerned that a statutory inquiry was not the most appropriate way to handle such a sensitive and private matter for many people. Through a compromise agreement reached with the Parents for Justice group, the Department is to institute a two-phase inquiry, the first part in private under Senior Counsel, Ann Dunne. The inquiry, which will examine the procedures for retaining organs in the country's hospitals, will also look at arrangements with pharmaceutical companies in relation to the retained organs. By the autumn, it is hoped to hold public hearings through the Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children, using a similar format to that used by the Public Accounts Committee during the DIRT tax hearings. In the meantime, the department is setting up a working group to examine legislation on the disposal of human tissue. The Minister said that there is a need for such legislation to put in place a regulatory framework for the retention and disposal of human tissue in hospitals. Martin says no death certificates discovered in other location
Wednesday, January 10 2001 The Minister for Health and Children has reiterated that he had been informed no medical certificates of death for 1993 have been discovered in a separate location. It was claimed in some media reports earlier today that 1993 certificates, which had been damaged in flooding in the Customs House basement around 1998 and which the Department said had been destroyed, were in fact moved to O'Connell Bridge House. In a statement this evening, the Department said that this is not the case. Mícheal Martin reiterated that all 17 requests for medical death certificates from parents had been met. He said that he wished to emphasise that since he announced the inquiry into organ retention practices in February 2000, no relevant records have been disposed of. Earlier, opposition parties had called on the Minister to explain how documents relating to the retention of children's organs came to be missing. However, Mr Martin had said that the certificates were destroyed, as part of normal procedure, before it was known they would be needed for the upcoming enquiry. The Parents for Justice Group, representing parents, said that it was horrified to learn that many post-mortem certificates had been destroyed or lost. With just weeks to go before the inquiry into organs retention practices begin, it has emerged in letters from the Department that vital post mortem certificates were destroyed as part of normal procedure. The Parents for Justice Group said that these documents, which record deaths, and names of medical practitioners in hospitals at the time of death, were vital to answering their questions in relation to organ retention practices. Departmental letters to some parents said that all certificates before 1987 have been destroyed, and records for 1993 were destroyed in a flood. Minister Martin said that he was confident the inquiry, which is being chaired by senior counsel Anne Dunne, would be able to investigate the organs retention practices where organs were retained without parental consent. Parents call for collapse of inquiry
01 December 2002 Parents of deceased children whose organs were retained by hospitals without their consent, say they are withdrawing all co-operation with the government inquiry into the scandal. The Parents for Justice group say the Minister for Health and his officials are trying to 'keep a lid' on its initial findings and that the inquiry had lost all credibility. They now want him to call it off. Public inquiry into organ scandal ruled out
18 December 2002 The Minister for Health and Children, Micheál Martin, has ruled out a public inquiry into the organ retention scandal, saying the existing inquiry should continue. Mr Martin made the comments in a statement today after he met representatives of Parents For Justice - the group which represents parents of deceased children whose organs were retained by hospitals without their consent. He said that the Chairperson of the Post Mortem Inquiry, Anne Dunne, has informed him that she would provide a report on the scandal in 12 months. The Parents for Justice group is calling for a public inquiry into the scandal. In a statement, the group said Mr Martin was unfit to continue as Minister for Health and Children. A spokesperson described the meeting as aggressive and confrontational. Legal writs issued over organ retention
10 February 2003 A support group for families who discovered their dead children's organs were removed and retained without their knowledge, has begun legal action. Parents for Justice has issued 50 writs against a number of hospitals, health boards, doctors and consultants. The group said several hundred more will be issued over the next few weeks. Writs have also been issued against the Minister for Health and Children, Michéal Martin, and the Attorney General, Rory Brady. Amongst the grounds for action are damages for personal injury, distress and breach of contract. A spokeswoman for the Department of Health has acknowledged that legal proceedings are underway. However the spokesperson said that the Minister for Health wanted the Dunne Inquiry into organ retention to continue. Michéal Martin received a commitment from the Chairwoman of the inquiry, Anne Dunne, Senior Counsel, that her report on the paediatric hospitals would be completed by the end of the year. Meanwhile, the spokesperson for Parents for Justice, Fionnuala O'Reilly, said the group was left with no alternative but to embark on a course of litigation. She said after two years of the Dunne Inquiry into organ retention not one family had received an answer to the questions they had posed about post mortem practice. The group recently withdrew from the inquiry claiming it was ineffective because it was not on a statutory footing. Parents group welcomes organ inquiry call
18 February 2003 The Parents for Justice group has welcomed the Master of the National Maternity Hospital's call for a statutory inquiry into the organ retention scandal. Dr Declan Keane made his remarks at a recent public debate at Trinity College when he expressed the hope that a decision would be taken soon to 'move to a statutory inquiry'. Fionnuala O'Reilly, Spokesperson for Parents For Justice, said the group welcomed Dr Keane's support for a statutory inquiry. She said the group felt that there were a number of medical professionals of the same mind as Dr Keane and she urged them to identify themselves and support the group in its call for a public inquiry. Ms O'Reilly claimed that the Minister for Health was becoming increasingly isolated in his determination to maintain the Dunne Inquiry. Parents For Justice recently withdrew from the Dunne Inquiry into organ retention claiming it was ineffective because it was not on a statutory footing. The group is seeking a full statutory inquiry into the organ retention scandal. Dunne Inquiry costs State E 15m to date
21 June 2004 It has emerged that the Dunne Inquiry examining the retention of organs of deceased children has so far cost the State E15 million. The Inquiry, which was set up over four years ago, is conducting its business in private and has yet to produce a report. There is no indication when such a report will be finalised. Minister Michael Martin set up the Dunne Inquiry at the start of the year 2000 following months of controversy over revelations that hospitals had retained the organs of dead children, without their parent's consent. The Inquiry initially had the support of the Parents for Justice Group, who represent around 2,000 families affected by this controversy. However, they withdrew their co-operation over two years ago, calling for a full statutory inquiry, which would have the power to compel witnesses to attend. Today spokesperson Charlotte Yeats said they were shocked by the news that so far this investigation has cost taxpayers E15.3 million. She said Minister Martin should scrap it. A report on the investigations relating to paediatric hospitals was expected at the end of last year. The Chairman recently told the Department of Health that it has not proved possible to complete this within the time frame laid out. Inquiries into maternity hospitals and maternity units around the country still have to be completed. Parents informed of practice at hospital
13 August 2004 Our Lady's Hospital for Sick Children in Dublin has written to around 20 parents to inform them that pituitary glands from their deceased children were passed onto a pharmaceutical company for the manufacture of growth hormones. In a statement this evening to RTÉ News, the hospital said it had learned in 2000 that pituitary glands were sent to Pharmacia Ireland as part of an international programme to make growth hormone for children deficient in the hormone. While it gave this information to families who contacted the hospital at the time, it was unable to provide definitive information on individual patients. The full extent of the practice has now emerged after the drug company involved, Kabi-Vitrim, now called Pharmacia, passed on information from its records to the hospital. Parents for Justice, the campaign group for families affected by the organs retention controversy, said it was disturbed at the news and wanted to know if the practice was more widespread among other hospitals. It said that the development confirmed the need for a statutory inquiry into the organs issue. Further revelations over glands supply
14 August 2004 More hospitals have confirmed that they supplied a pharmaceutical company with pituitary glands taken from deceased children to help make human growth hormones. Earlier today, the Coombe Women's Hospital said it regretted the practice occurred without parents' consent but insisted that it could not happen today. The glands were supplied in the 1970's. The development follows a statement yesterday from Our Lady's Hospital for Sick Children in Dublin that it had supplied glands to the firm, Pharmacia Ireland then know as KabiVitrum. Parents' group criticises Martin over organs
16 August 2004 The Parents For Justice group says it is shocked at the latest revelations that a number of hospitals supplied a pharmaceutical company with pituitary glands taken from deceased children without their parents' consent. The glands were supplied in the 1970s to help make human growth hormones. In a statement tonight, the company involved Pharmacia Ireland said it respected the concerns of parents. It had been difficult to locate documents dating back over 20 years, the firm said. Pharmacia confirmed that it had paid pathologists and hospitals for supplying glands but said that the fee was for their removal and storage. At a news conference earlier today, Parents For Justice criticised the Minister for Health, Micheál Martin, for what it says is his poor handling of the issue. Mr Martin has said that the new information will be provided to the Dunne Inquiry which is examining post mortem examination practices by hospitals. The group says it wants the Dunne Inquiry put on a statutory basis. More hospitals in glands controversy
17 August 2004 Another three hospitals have admitted that they supplied pituitary glands from deceased children to drugs firms in the late 1970s and early 80s. It was confirmed this afternoon that hospitals in Cork, Tralee and Limerick were involved in the practice. The announcement follows last week's revelation that Our Lady's Hospital for Sick Children in Dublin wrote to around 20 parents to inform them that glands had been taken from their children. The Coombe Women's Hospital in Dublin later said that it too had passed on pituitary glands to a drugs company. The Southern Health Board said pituitary glands were given by Cork University Hospital to Kabi Vitrum, now known as Pharmacia. Another company, Novo Nordisk, was given glands by Tralee Hospital. The glands were used to treat children with a growth hormone deficiency. Cork University Hospital supplied about 75 glands, while Tralee General Hospital supplied 36. The Southern Health Board says neither hospital received remuneration. All the cases occurred in the early 1980s and the Southern Health Board says no detailed records were kept by either hospital which would allow it to identify from which children the glands were taken. The board says it has been co-operating fully with the Dunne Inquiry and has furnished the inquiry with all details requested since 2002. The Mid Western Health Board admitted that a number of pituitary glands were supplied by the Mid Western Regional Hospital in Limerick to Kabi Vitrium in the late 1970s and early 80s. In a statement, the board said a pathologist was paid a small sum in respect of each gland by the company, and that this money was used for textbooks and continuing medical education. In line with the standards of the time, parental consent was not sought, and the arrangement ceased once an artificial form of growth hormone became available in the early 1980s. The Mid Western Health Board also says it has co-operated fully with the Dunne Inquiry. 32 hospitals supplied glands, says firm
18 August 2004 An international pharmaceutical firm, Novo-Nordisk, has told RTÉ News that 32 Irish hospitals supplied it with pituitary glands over a ten-year period. The company said that 2,500 glands were sent to Denmark from Irish hospitals to manufacture human growth hormone for children. The glands were supplied between 1976 and 1986 and 'minor compensation' was paid to doctors and hospitals for the purchase of medical books, the company said. It added that countries which supplied a large number of glands received a large number of growth hormone product, and Ireland benefited significantly from this arrangement. Revelations at three more hospitals Today, three more hospitals confirmed that they supplied glands from deceased children to the drugs firm. In a statement this afternoon, the North Eastern Health Board confirmed that glands were supplied by Louth County Hospital in Dundalk and Our Lady's Hospital in Navan. A number of pituitary glands were retained by Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda, but were not supplied and were subsequently disposed of. A spokesperson for the board said it had no idea of the numbers involved as no records had been kept. It is believed the practice existed from the late 1970s to around 1985. The NEHB said it has been co-operating fully with the Dunne Inquiry and has furnished it with all details requested since 2002. The South Eastern Health Board earlier confirmed that one of its hospitals was also involved in the practice. The SEHB said that as part of the Dunne Inquiry it examined records but could find no details relating to the supply of pituitary glands to any drug company. However, recent correspondence from the pharmaceutical firm shows that from 1978 to 1984 Waterford Regional Hospital provided around 50 glands for the manufacture of human growth hormone. Both the NEHB and the SEHB say they regret the distress this information has caused to families and relatives, and have set up confidential helplines. The SEHB can be contacted on 1800 300 6555. The number for the NEHB is 1850 24 1850. Calls for Dunne to complete probe Meanwhile, the organisation representing Irish pathologists has said that the Dunne Inquiry should be allowed to complete its work on the organ retention controversy. A spokesperson for the Faculty of Irish Pathologists said it was fully co-operating with the inquiry. The medical body said that the controversy over the supply of pituitary glands was complex and that the Dunne Inquiry was the best forum for it to be examined under. Hospitals received payment for removal of glands
Martin Wall Pathologists and hospitals were paid by a pharmaceutical company for removing and storing pituitary glands taken from dead patients during postmortem examinations and which were later used in the production of a growth hormone. In a statement last night, Pharmacia Ireland said that one of its predecessor companies Kabi Vitrum Ltd had, in the 1980s, obtained pituitary glands from a number of hospitals to manufacture Crescormon, a human growth hormone. "Kabi provided reimbursement to pathologists and hospitals for the work involved. The sum was intended solely to defray any additional costs required to remove and store the pituitary glands," the statement said. A spokesman said that the amounts involved were small - about £1 or £2 per gland - and that the money went primarily to hospitals. However, a number of hospitals and health boards have denied that the practice occurred for monetary gain. The Master of the Coombe Hospital, Dr Sean Daly, in a statement to The Irish Times last night suggested that hospitals had to donate pituitary glands to secure growth hormones for other patients at a time of global shortage. The controversy over the removal of pituitary glands escalated yesterday as it was confirmed that more hospitals had engaged in the practice. The representative group for those involved, Parents for Justice, expressed its shock at the revelations and strongly criticised the Minister for Health, Mr Martin, for his handling of the investigation into the issue. It also demanded the abolition of the Dunne Inquiry which the Minister previously established to look into the organ retention controversy. Parents for Justice chairwoman Ms Fionnuala O'Reilly said she wanted to know the identities of the pathologists who received money and of the contact person in the hospitals who could organise the dispatch of pituitary glands. She said the inquiry into organ retention, headed by senior counsel Ms Anne Dunne, had been sitting for over three years, had cost more than E15 million and had so far produced no conclusions. The new developments in the pituitary gland controversy arose from a second statement issued by Pharmacia Ireland to the Dunne Inquiry last May. Based on this new information Our Lady's Hospital for Sick Children in Crumlin last week told around 20 parents that organs taken from their children had been given to the pharmaceutical company. The Irish Times revealed on Saturday that two former Dublin hospitals, the Richmond and Jervis Street, had also provided pituitary glands "for research" to the company. Over the weekend it emerged that pituitary glands were taken from patients at Cork University Hospital and the Coombe Hospital in Dublin. Last night, the Southern Health Board said that the practice had also occurred at Tralee General Hospital. Pharmacia last night said that glands were obtained during postmortem examinations, consistent with prevailing medical standards. The pituitary glands were used to manufacture Crescormon, a growth hormone intended to help children with growth deficiency to reach normal adult height. The practice ceased in the mid-1980s with the development of a synthetic component. The Southern Health Board last night said that there were no financial transactions involved. Dr Daly said he regretted that the practice had occurred without the consent of the parents. However, he said it was done for the best intentions and not for monetary gain. "This was an international programme set up in response to a global shortage of growth hormones and each country received growth hormone protein pro rata to the level it had donated," he said. However, a spokesman for Pharmacia Ireland last night denied that there had been any such arrangement. Two hospitals admit to supplying glands
Irish Examiner TWO more hospitals have revealed they supplied pituitary glands from deceased patients to pharmaceutical companies, bringing to 22 the number of hospitals that have admitted their involvement so far. The country's largest acute hospital, St James' in Dublin city centre, and St Vincent's University Hospital in South Dublin, both confirmed they supported the practice of using human glands to make growth hormone for the treatment of children with growth deficiencies. Neither hospital would say how many deceased patients' bodies were used in this way or how many they had been able to positively identify so that the information could be passed to their next of kin. St James' Hospital said it was common practice for the hospital to carry out post-mortem examinations on behalf of seven city hospitals from 1975, around the same time the harvesting of pituitary glands began. Those hospitals included Sir Patrick Dun's, the Royal City of Dublin Hospital on Baggot Street, Mercers Hospital and Dr Steeven's Hospital, all of which were closed and had their services transferred to the St James' campus in the mid-1980s. The other three hospitals were the Meath, the Adelaide and the National Children's Hospital, Harcourt Street, for which St James continued to carry out post mortems until they closed and re-opened as Tallaght Hospital in 1998. From 1980, St James was also contracted to provide post-mortem services to four other smaller specialist hospitals: St Mary's, St Ita's, St Brendan's and Clon-skeagh. All post mortems were carried out at St James by trainee pathologists under the supervision of the Department of Pathology, Trinity College. A spokesman said yesterday the number of hospitals involved and the scattering of post-mortem records presented difficulties for St James in terms of verifying statistics and the identities of the patients involved. The hospital had provided all records and relevant information to the Dunne Inquiry on Post Mortem Procedures and was continuing to co-operate with the investigation. St Vincent's also said it had made full disclosures to the inquiry. Novo Nordisk, one of two pharmaceutical companies who admitted involvement, said it was supplied by 32 hospitals. The Health Department's helpline for people with questions about the organ retention controversy received over 100 calls by lunchtime yesterday. The department, and the Eastern Regional Health Authority which is running the helpline, were unable to say how many calls were received in the afternoon. Newspaper advertisements will appear today with details of the helpline which can be contacted on 1800 45 45 00. Drug firm now says it bought 7,500 glands
By Caroline O’Doherty THE number of deceased patients whose pituitary glands were supplied to a Danish pharmaceutical firm was three times greater than revealed earlier this week. Novo Nordisk said yesterday it was supplied with 7,500 glands from hospitals over a 10-year period rather than the 2,500 it had earlier said it received. A typing error in a briefing document prepared for a response to media queries was blamed for the mistake. The figure of 32 given for the number of hospitals which provided glands was correct. Company chief science officer Dr Mads Krogsgaard Thomsen said the figures were correctly recorded in documentation the company supplied to the Dunne Inquiry, which is investigating the organ retention controversy. Dr Thomsen said there were more adults than children among the 7,500 patients whose glands were supplied for use in the production of growth hormone Nanormon. “There is some confusion about this. People tend to think that because it makes growth hormone, the pituitary gland is specific to children but, in fact, the vast majority donated to the company were from adults. “Obviously people tend to pass on at a higher age, which means more deceased patients are adults but also the pituitary gland in a child is very small compared to an adult, so it produces less growth hormone.” The practice of harvesting pituitary glands for hormone production ended in the mid-1980s when advances in biotechnology enabled scientists to make a synthetic substitute. Prior to that, Novo Nordisk estimates it supplied the medical market in Ireland with a quantity of Nanormon sufficient to treat about 100 children a year for conditions relating to growth deficiency. Dr Thomsen said the hospitals received a financial “contribution” of about e2 per gland “with the understanding that this would be used for a fund for buying medical books for the hospital library.” The same arrangement was in place with all hospitals in all countries which supplied pituitary glands to the company in the same period and was restricted to pituitary glands, said Dr Thomsen. “The only other gland we are interested in is the pancreatic gland as it produces insulin, but we take it from pigs and cattle.” Novo Nordisk was first asked by the Dunne Inquiry to supply information in 2001 and sent its first reply in October of that year, Dr Thomsen said. No one representing the company had been asked to give verbal evidence to the inquiry. The inquiry yesterday refused to answer any questions about the controversy. Irish Medical Organisation president Dr James Reilly expressed concern about the piecemeal manner in which information had come to public attention. “I would prefer that the full facts were put in front of us and we would have a full and open debate,” he said. Martin rejects demands over organ inquiry
31/08/2004 Health Minister Micheál Martin insisted today that the controversial investigation into an organ retention scandal must continue. He categorically rejected calls to transfer the Dunne Inquiry on to a statutory footing, claiming it would only delay the outcome. “If you put it on a statutory basis it would set the whole thing back a number of years,” he said. “It would give a whole new dynamic, methodology and format to the inquiry.” The minister claimed the inquiry, which has been sitting in private since 2001, had made great progress and uncovered some important revelations in recent weeks. He said a lot of hospitals had made submissions regarding the supply of pituitary glands from deceased children and adults to pharmaceutical companies. Mr Martin also said that the scale on which the organs were supplied to develop a human growth hormone had surprised everyone, including himself. “It has emerged to have been on a wider scale than anyone would have known,” he said. “We need to get a complete picture of what happened in Irish hospitals and why organs were stored, and for that we must await the report’s findings.” The Dunne Inquiry concerns controversial organ supplies made in the 1970s and 1980s and has already cost more than E15m. The inquiry’s next interim report, which will deal with organ retention practices in paediatric hospitals, is due in the autumn. The Parents for Justice campaign group has withdrawn from the inquiry and began to pursue the legal route because it claims the investigation is not getting full co-operation from hospitals. Dunne Inquiry should complete its work: Martin
31 August 2004 The Minister for Health, Micheál Martin, has said that the Dunne Inquiry into the organ retention controversy should be allowed to complete its work. He added that the inquiry can get to the full truth and rejected calls for it to be put on a statutory footing. Mr Martin said he believed that many of the recent revelations regarding the supply of pituitary glands from deceased children and adults to pharmaceutical firms had been uncovered as a result of the inquiry's work, which is being conducted in private. The minister also insisted that the Department of Health had been unaware of the supply of organs for the manufacture of human growth hormone in the 70s and early 80s. |
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