Baby organs mum is to fight controversial amendment to bill (From Warrington Guardian)

Baby organs mum is to fight controversial amendment to bill

A MUM of a baby whose organs were retained without her consent by Alder Hey Hospital is urging the town to write to their MP to stop a controversial amendment being added to the Human Tissue Bill.

Val Nicholls, of Barrowhall Lane, Great Sankey, lost her four-month-old son Anthony to what she believed was cot death 16 years ago. She later discovered that the hospital had removed and retained his organs and kept blocks and slides of parts of his tiny body.

The bill implements changes to the use and retention of organs in direct response to the distress caused by the Alder Hey, Bristol and Isaacs inquiries, ensuring that no human bodies, body parts, organs or tissue can be taken without the consent of parents and relatives.

But the British Medical Association is pushing for an amendment to be made to the bill, whereby unless the person carried evidence that they had opted out of being an organ donor, it would be presumed that they would consent, almost like the donor card in reverse.

Val said: "It's very important that people write to their MPs about this. That's not what this bill is about, it's meant to be to protect people like us who were traumatised when we discovered what they had done with our children's bodies, now they are trying to turn it round. Making people carry a special card saying they don't want to be a donor is not improving anything."