Parents of babies whose organs were retained by hospitals remain confident that the names of health professionals will be revealed during the inquiry on the issue. A Department of Health spokesman insisted that no such guarantees had been given by the Attorney General but parents said they were "quite confident".
Ms Fionnuala O'Reilly, spokeswoman for the support group, Parents for Justice, said it was essential that the information be provided.
"Parents are told that this was a standard policy to retain organs, but we do not know who performed the autopsies or who disposed of the organs," she said.
The inquiry by Ms Anne Dunne SC will start when this and other issues are agreed between the parents' groups and the Attorney General.
Parents were also concerned about the role of the coroner in the post-mortems. Parents for Justice has heard from about 80 families who were told by hospitals that the coroner wished to carry out autopsies on their babies.
However, the parents said the coroner had no record of the post-mortems.
The coroner does not need the permission of parents to perform the procedure. However, permission is required if hospitals wish to carry out post-mortems.
"These parents believe that post-mortems were obtained under false pretences," Ms O'Reilly said.
Parents for Justice has dealt with more than 3,000 queries from parents who have learned that their babies' organs were retained by hospitals. The support group has 1,600 members, all of whom have had their cases confirmed. The organisation is registering up to 30 new members a week.
It has also emerged that organs were retained by hospitals as long ago as the late 1950s. One man is seeking a judicial review so that a case from 1959 can be included in the inquiry. At the moment, the inquiry covers cases from 1970 onwards.
Meanwhile, the Irish Stillbirth and Neonatal Society is holding meetings for parents concerned about the issue of organ removal. The group has received hundreds of calls from parents who have discovered that hospitals removed their babies' organs without permission.
