Consent needed for organ retention, BMA says.(British Medical Association)(News)

The BMA issued interim guidelines this week emphasising the need to obtain families' consent for the removal and retention of organs from dead patients.

The guidance was given in the wake of a public outcry over the discovery that doctors routinely removed and stored the organs of dead children without the parents' consent or knowledge.

The practice first came to light during the inquiry into high death rates of children undergoing heart surgery at Bristol Royal Infirmary, which is due to report early next year. It later emerged that organs were routinely removed and stored at Alder Hey Hospital in Liverpool, which is expected to produce a report next month. …