PITY II logo and contact information: PITY II, Stanley Community Centre, County Road, Walton, Liverpool, UK. Tel: +44 (0)151 285 0016. email: pity2uk@yahoo.co.uk

Link to Parents Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
WHY?



Some of the images associated with the organ retention issues at Alder Hey Hopsital in Liverpool, UK

 
Link to Alan Milburn's [Secretary of State for Health] Speech to the House of Commons [UK Government] on the 30th of January 2001

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animated presentation of the words "Never Again!"

Organ Retention has not Affected Organ Donation

The following statement, reproduced in full,
has been published on the UK Transplant Website.


ALDER HEY - ORGAN TRANSPLANTS UNAFFECTED UK Transplant Website

The gift of organs for transplant in the UK was not adversely affected as a result of the Alder Hey organ retention inquiry.

Public surveys carried out by the Department of Health showed that the public understood the difference between giving consent for organs to be used for transplantation and organs being retained for research without consent.

In fact, UK Transplant recorded an increase in donors aged under six (five in the year 2000, 14 in 2001) and the publicity surrounding organ retention may have contributed to the increase in young donors because the issues were being highlighted so publicly.

The NHS Organ Donor Register (ODR), which records details of people who have pledged to donate their organs after their death, was equally unaffected by Alder Hey.

During February 2001 (immediately after the findings of the inquiry were published) significant increases were seen in the number of registrations to the ODR. During the following six months, the number of people who had joined the register had risen by a further 100,000 compared to the same period the previous year.

Seeking consent for organ donation

In every case of potential organ and tissue donation, nursing and or medical staff ask relatives if they will consent to the donation for transplant purposes. At the same time families are asked if organs and tissue that are unsuitable for transplantation may be used for medical or scientific research purposes.

Once consent for transplant has been given, relatives are kept informed at every stage of the procedure for removal, allocation and transplantation - all of which must take place very quickly.

 

 

PITY II (Parents who have Interred Their Young Twice) is the parents' support group set up in the wake of the organ retention scandal
at Alder Hey Hospital (Liverpool, UK). It aims to provide self help support and advice to affected families.


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