Doctor steals body parts

LONDON – Doctors at a prominent children's hospital took hearts, brains, eyes and heads from thousands of dead children without the consent of their parents, a government report said yesterday, calling the findings "grotesque" and "appalling."

The hospital apologized and announced punitive steps against those involved, but families said that did little to diminish their horror and heartbreak over the unauthorized raiding of their children's organs for research and teaching.

Health Secretary Alan Milburn told lawmakers that Dutch pathologist Dick Van Velzen, who was responsible for post-mortem examinations at the Royal Liverpool Children's Hospital between 1988 and 1995, had "systematically ordered the unethical and illegal stripping of every organ from every child who had a post mortem."

"The appalling record-keeping means that some parents will never know the truth about what happened to their child, and I regret that deeply. And I am afraid that sadly there is little that can be done about it now," Milburn added.

The report found that Van Velzen lied to parents, other doctors and hospital managers and that he stole medical records, falsified reports and encouraged others to do the same. The report, which was referred to police for possible criminal prosecution, recommended that his medical license be revoked.

Van Velzen, who is wanted on criminal charges in Canada, is now on indefinite leave of absence from Westeinde Hospital in The Hague, Netherlands. The hospital said Van Velzen was not available to comment.

Van Velzen spent three days giving evidence to the British inquiry and admitted wrongdoing, said Michael Redfern, the attorney who led the investigation.

"To that extent, he was honorable. But his procedures were totally unacceptable and he accepted that," Redfern said.

The "inept handling" of the return of organs by the hospital resulted in some parents facing third or fourth funerals, the British report said.

"The pain caused to the parents by this dreadful sequence of events is unforgivable," said Milburn. Arrangements will be made to return organs and other tissues to families who want to receive them, he said.

The Liverpool hospital apologized yesterday and announced suspensions of high-ranking staff, but parents demanded a personal apology from both the hospital and the University of Liverpool.