2pm update

Living children's glands given to drug firms

The hospital at the centre of a scandal over the stockpiling of babies' organs today faced fresh criticism after admitting that it gave a pharmaceutical company body parts from living children in return for financial donations.

Alder Hey children's hospital in Liverpool said thymus glands removed from youngsters during complex heart operations were sent to the company for research purposes between 1991 and 1993.

The health secretary, Alan Milburn, said: "This is yet another piece of deeply distressing news for the parents of children treated at Alder Hey.

"This was a particular practice which was happening in the early 90s at Alder Hey and, it seems, some other hospitals.

"The NHS already knows this practice of taking organs without consent is totally unacceptable to this government. To reinforce this we will be issuing further guidance to the NHS."

Mr Milburn added: "Next week we will publish the report of an inquiry into the appalling sequence of events at Alder Hey and I will be making a full statement to parliament. It is clear that changes will have to be made to ensure that patients' consent comes first."

A spokeswoman for Alder Hey said: "The hospital obviously regret if this information is causing any sort of grief to parents."

The mother of a baby boy whose organs were removed and stored by Alder Hey without her consent said she was appalled at the latest disclosure.

The exchange of organs for cash is the latest twist in the Alder Hey organs scandal - and the first time body parts from living children have been involved.

A spokeswoman for Alder Hey refused to name the company involved, but it is understood to be Aventis Pasteur, a leading vaccination research firm which has its headquarters in the French city of Lyons.

The company donated money to the hospital's cardiac department after receiving thymus glands from the operations.

The Alder Hey spokeswoman said: "In some cases to carry out complex heart surgery it is necessary for the thymus gland to be removed.

"The hospital can confirm that for a brief period between 1991 and 1993 these were made available to a pharmaceutical company for research, and that we are aware that during that period contributions were made to the trust's cardiac department."

She would not confirm the how many children were involved.

A consultant paediatrician at Alder Hey, Dr Mark Caswell, said: "It is a routine procedure which means that the thymus gland is taken out to allow better access for cardiac surgeons to perform their operation."

"Up until 1993, these thymus glands were supplied to a pharmaceutical company for them to produce drugs which would allow us to treat children with aplastic anaemia.

"This was a very important part of their treatment and was something that the hospital felt it was very important to be involved in.

"In 1993, there were concerns about this being a commercial transaction even though there was only a small token payment being made for these thymus glands and supply of thymus glands then stopped," he added.

Parental consent was not sought for the removal of the thymus gland because it was a routine part of the procedure, Dr Caswell said.

The pharmaceutical company paid £5 for each thymus gland, he told Sky News, and the hospital regretted any distress caused to parents.

Paula O'Leary, of the families' support group Pity2, said she was "appalled" by the disclosure. Mrs O'Leary, of Bootle, Merseyside, asked: "What right have they got to treat our children like that?

"It is bad enough that they treated them with disrespect after their death, but disgraceful that they did this when they are alive.

"I keep saying, 'There can be nothing worse to come out', but each new week brings an horrific revelation."

Ian Cohen, a solicitor who represents more than 150 families affected by the Alder Hey scandal, said he hoped the latest development would be contained within the independent inquiry report.

"We have been trying to put pressure on Alder Hey for 15 months to tell us about whether pharmaceutical companies were involved in paying money in exchange for organs, but they have always said 'not to the best of our knowledge'.

"I have always had very grave concerns that Alder Hey will only disclose information like this when pressurised."

The thymus gland, a vital part of the immune system, is made up of two parts and lies in the upper area of the chest, close to the heart.

The two lobes, named thymus because they resemble a bunch of thyme flowers, produce healthy cells to attack foreign substances around the body.

One lobe develops cells to attack diseases as they enter the body, while the other continually produces defensive antibodies to keep the body healthy.

Aventis Pasteur, which also has sites in the United States, Canada, Argentina, Japan, Turkey, the Philippines and Mexico, specialises in vaccinations and is a partner in the Global Polio Eradication Initiative launched by the World Health Organisation in 1988.

Related stories
11.1.2001: 50,000 organs secretly stored in hospitals
14.11.2000: Foetus store triggers new row at Alder Hey hospital
17.3.2000: New organ scandal forces hospital chief to quit
5.11.1999: Hospital body parts scandal grows
Issue explained: Organ removal - Guardian Unlimited, 23.3.2000
11.5.2000: Arrogance of doctors led to organ scandal

Useful links
Background: Our mission - Aventis Pasteur
Background: House of Commons debates on Alder Hey - Hansard, 14.12.1999
Background: Alder Hey hospital - NHS jobnet

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