Coroner queries brain retention by hospital

The Dublin City Coroner, Dr Brian Farrell, is to write to the board of St Vincent's Hospital, Dublin, after the hospital retained the brain of a 78-year-old man for 10 weeks without informing his family.

When it realised its "oversight", St Vincent's rang one of William Crangle's daughters, Ms Paula Kelly, to notify her.

The day Ms Kelly took the call was the first anniversary of the reburial of her own daughter's organs, which had been retained, without her knowledge, by Holles Street Hospital "many years ago". Ms Kelly's daughter, Sarah, died shortly after birth.

Ms Kelly and other family members were present yesterday at the inquest into the death of her father.

She cried for much of the hearing and was supported by her brother, William.

The inquest heard Mr Crangle's family were shocked and upset to learn their father's brain had been retained by the hospital without their knowledge.

Mr Crangle, Dickson Villas, Dún Laoghaire, died from heart failure eight days after he was hit by a car while crossing the road in Glasthule, Dublin, on November 20th, 2002.

The jury at Dublin Coroner's Court found the cause of death was linked to the road traffic accident.

They returned a verdict of accidental death.

Mr Jerry Lambe, solicitor for the Crangle family, said despite "all the controversy" about organ-retention in the State and the establishment of a tribunal of inquiry to investigate the practice, it was clear mistakes were still being made by hospitals.

If St Vincent's Hospital did not know of the current guidelines relating to organ-retention, "it ought to have known", he said.

While a hospital is not obliged to seek the consent of next-of-kin to retain organs, it must inform the family.

"One can see the professional reasons as to why an organ might be retained, but what I am concerned about is that the family were not informed under current guidelines. Something about these guidelines is clearly not working," Mr Lambe said.

The "procedures and processes" relating to organ-retention must be more strictly adhered to, he added. The family "had received back what they see as a less than complete corpse".

Dr Brian Farrell said he intended to put the family's concerns to the board of St Vincent's.