The scandal over retained organs at Alder Hey hospital in Liverpool, UK, has caused a drastic reduction in post-mortem organ donations, threatening crucial research, say British pathologists.
An official inquiry into the scandal was published on Tuesday. Former Alder Hey pathologist Dick van Velzen 鈥渟ystematically ordered the unethical and illegal stripping of every organ from every child who had a post mortem,鈥� said Alan Milburn, the government鈥檚 health secretary.
Those parents who had consented to post mortem examinations were not told that their child鈥檚 organs might be retained. New guidelines for clinicians and pathologists drawn up last year state that relatives must receive full information about what an autopsy might involve before they are asked to give their consent.
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But following the Alder Hey scandal, relatives are far less likely to give that consent, says Nicholas Wright, president of the Pathological Society of Great Britain and Ireland.
Last year, there were just 3,500 autopsies in Britain. 鈥淭hat represents a drastic reduction in numbers. We are very worried about the implications for research,鈥� he told 快猫短视频.
For example, Wright says, research on autopsied brains from sufferers of multiple sclerosis or on defective hearts from babies are vital for developing new treatments.
Organ stores 鈥渋nvaluable鈥�
The Royal Liverpool Children鈥檚 Inquiry found that 104,300 organs, foetuses and body parts are in storage in British hospitals. But the real figure may be much higher. Many hospitals did not keep accurate records and some did not provide figures, the inquiry found.
The validity of retaining large numbers of certain organs has been questioned, particularly at Alder Hey. But organ stores can become useful 鈥渋n ways we can鈥檛 predict,鈥� says Michael Wilks, chairman of the British Medical Association鈥檚 Medical Ethics Committee. Doctors should make relatives aware of this, he says.
Many pathologists are worried that many relatives are bracketing all pathologists with van Velzen, and so threatening the future of 鈥渋nvaluable鈥� organ banks, says Wright.
鈥淔or example, if you are investigating a rare congenital abnormality of the heart, being able to study organs from banks of neonatal hearts is very important,鈥� he says.
Wright fears that new treatments currently in development, such as gene therapies for certain cancers, will not be go forward if autopsies of dead patients are not permitted. 鈥淲ithout an autopsy, you won鈥檛 be able to know what鈥檚 going on.鈥�
Donated organs are also important for teaching medical students. 鈥淚t is far easier to teach students about cancer of the lung if you can use real specimens,鈥� Wright says.
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