Madam, – Peter Coughlan wonders (July 27th) what the HSE hopes to achieve by returning “insignificant body parts” to the “wailing relatives” of deceased adults and children.
As the parent of a recently deceased newborn child who just last week received word that her organs are available for burial (thankfully after minimal delay), I can confirm that this news does indeed bring a renewed sense of bereavement. I must insist, however, that every single hair on her head, never mind her organs, are of utmost significance to me and all who loved her. To suggest that the small but precious remains of loved ones should simply be disposed of without consultation is highly insensitive.
While expressions of grief may make Mr Coughlan uncomfortable, I cannot see why parents and relatives should be denied the right to decide on the course of action that suits them best. – Yours, etc,
MURRAY NOLAN,
Lucan,
Co Dublin.
Madam, – Peter Coghlan’s letter (July 27th) has left me with a sense of numbness, and disbelief that someone can write so clinically on a subject that they seem to know nothing about. As a father who buried his infant son a little over a year ago, may I say that his description of private personal tragedies which occur in life seems brutal, dismissive and unnecessary.
The primary wrongdoing by the doctors and the HSE was not in the manner they returned the bodies of infants to their families for burial, but rather their arrogance in assuming that they could deny the families their deceased infants in the first place. What the fortunate majority of the population must understand is that whether or not a child draws breath before they died, that infant child is forever part of the family. Therefore the HSE must facilitate the families of the deceased children in any way that lessens their burden and not in a manner that some administrator finds efficient.
Without the independent validation of the autopsy process on the rightfully mistrusted and incompetent HSE and the publication of the associated report, I for one would not have allowed an autopsy on my child, as the possibility of him being held in a laboratory for eternal inspection and dissection would be an insult too great for our little innocent boy. – Yours, etc,
DAVID MALONE,
Applewood Heights,
Greystones,
Co Wicklow.