Two more hospitals yesterday confirmed they took pituitary glands from patients during post- mortem examinations in the 1970s and '80s and supplied them to the pharmaceutical industry.
The State's largest hospital St James's in Dublin said it supplied the glands to pharmaceutical companies which used them to manufacture human growth hormone necessary for the treatment of children with growth hormone deficiency.
St Vincent's University Hospital, also in Dublin, admitted it did likewise.
Both hospitals issued brief statements confirming their involvement in the practice, which is being investigated by a long-running inquiry set up by the Minister for Health, Mr Martin in 2000.
The inquiry, chaired by Ms Anne Dunne SC, is sitting in private and has so far cost taxpayers over €15 million. Its first comprehensive report is expected later this year.
In its statement, St Vincent's said "it assisted in making available pituitary glands in furtherance of research and treatment of children with growth hormone deficiency".
It said this was in keeping with practice among many hospitals within the Irish healthcare system at the time. St James's statement was similar, with both hospitals emphasising they had co-operated with the Dunne inquiry, and would continue to do so. Their statements bring to 22 the number of hospitals in the State to confirm in recent days that they supplied glands to the pharmaceutical industry.
A spokesman for St James's also pointed out that in 1975 post- mortem examinations on behalf of the then Federated Dublin Voluntary Hospitals Group were centralised in St James's.
But he could not say if this meant pituitaries from patients who died in the seven hospitals in that group were also harvested and supplied to pharmaceutical companies.
Hospitals in the group included Sir Patrick Dun's, Royal City of Dublin in Baggot Street, Meath Hospital, Adelaide Hospital, Mercers Hospital, National Children's Hospital and Dr Steeven's Hospital.
Revelations over the past week that glands were retained without consent by so many hospitals has outraged Parents for Justice, the support group for families who had organs or tissues retained by hospitals at the time. Its chairwoman Ms Fionnuala O'Reilly has called for a statutory inquiry into the whole affair, claiming the current inquiry which depends on voluntary co-operation from all parties cannot get to the bottom of what happened.
A national helpline set up by the Department of Health to assist families with questions surrounding organ retention following recent revelations opened at 9 a.m. yesterday.
It received about 100 calls during the day. It will continue to operate daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday to Friday and can be contacted at 1800-45 45 00.