FAMILIES of victims of the Alder Hey organ retention scandal have welcomed the defeat of controversial proposals to make organ donation automatic unless people opted out.
MPs voted overwhelmingly against the move which would have reversed the current system of opting in for the donation of human organs.
The proposal was aimed at increasing the number of organs available for transplant.
In the end it was rejected by a 247 majority with 19 Labour MPs rebelling against whips' orders to vote down the measure.
Joan Wheeler, who founded Alder Hey parent support group PITY 2 after her son Karl had his heart and lungs removed without consent, said: 'This is what we wanted when we started the group, to have the law changed to make it a criminal offence for doctors and all those involved in organ retention to take organs without informed consent.'
The bid was spearheaded by Liberal Democrat Evan Harris who believes it is unfair that relatives were being asked to make an extremely difficult decision 'at the height of their grief'.
Under his proposals, everyone would be regularly reminded to put their names on a national register if they did not wish to be a donor.
'The existing system isn't working, but there is an alternative,' said Dr Harris.
'At the very least, the Government should be calling for a public debate. They need to answer to the thousands of people on transplant waiting lists and their relatives. They need to answer to the people who are buried or cremated with their organs when they would have wanted them to be used.'
In October 1999, it was revealed that Alder Hey kept hundreds of hearts, brains and other organs taken during post-mortem tests on children without their parents' consent, to the horror of hundreds of families.
After severe criticism by an independent inquiry led by Michael Redfern, QC, the hospital pledged to open a new era of transparency.
