Cork couple launch petition for publication of Human Tissue Bill
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A Cork couple whose baby’s organs were sent to Antwerp for incineration have launched a petition demanding that the Human Tissue Bill be published by the Department of Health.
Laura and Fintan Kelleher launched the petition, three years after their daughter Hope was stillborn at Cork University Maternity Hospital (CUMH) on November 3, 2019. Hope was one of 18 babies whose organs were sent to Antwerp in Belgium from CUMH for incineration in 2020.
The incinerations were carried out without the consent or knowledge of the parents. The Kellehers are living in Australia but their daughter is buried in Dunmanway.
Laura told the that the retention of babies’ organs without the consent of parents needs to stop.
“We cannot go forward here in Australia with our lives, knowing it can still happen," Laura said.
Her husband Fintan questioned the delays in publishing the bill and the uncertainty around the timeframe for enacting the legislation.
“How many more people are going to suffer before the Irish government does something? We do not want anyone else suffering.”
The Human Tissue Bill was due to have been published at the end of December. However, the Department of Health says the legislation, which would include a legislative framework around human organs and tissue used in post-mortem examinations, is currently at an advanced stage and will be published “as soon as possible”.
In September, Minister Frank Feighan told the Seanad that government approval will be sought for the bill “this Oireachtas term.” The general scheme of the bill was published in 2019.
As well as providing a framework around organs retained for post-mortem purposes, the legislation will also provide for an opt-out system of consent in relation to organ donation.
After the incineration of the organs was revealed on a Primetime documentary on RTÉ1 last September, the Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly, said the Human Tissue Bill was a priority for the government.
He told the Dáil: “The proposed Human Tissue (transplantation, post-mortem, anatomical examination and public display) Bill will create a modern legislative framework for consent for activities involving human organs and tissue.
"It will implement the key recommendation of the Madden report (2006) that no hospital post-mortem examination should be carried out and no tissue retained for any purpose whatsoever without the informed consent of the family or next of kin.”
The petition can be accessed at the website change.org under the title: Calling on the Department of Health in Ireland to publish the Human Tissues Bill.