Organ donor scandal doctor faces UK disciplinary hearing

Main Category: Hearing / Deafness
Article Date: 14 Dec 2003 - 0:00 PDT

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A doctor (retired) is to face a disciplinary hearing today with the General Medical Council (UK).

Dr. John Martin, former Medical Director of the Alder Hey hospital (UK) will be the only doctor to face action. This follows a highly critical inquiry report.

The inquiry found that thousands of babies who died at this hospital had been stripped of organs without consent by a senior doctor.

If Dr. Martin is found guilty he could be struck off (no longer allowed to practise medicine, he would lose his licence to practice).

Although Dr. Martin is the only one who will appear before hearing, other doctors were sent letters warning them about their future conduct as a result of the report.

Families (of the dead babies) were outraged and described this as a whitewash.

When Dr. Martin was in charge he allegedly failed to take adequate steps regarding problems with post-mortems and tissue samples at the Trust (in the UK Trust = A national health hospital).

The hearing is scheduled to last five days (Manchester, England). If he is found guilty, he could either be struck off or simply given a warning (or suspended).

Most criticism was levelled at pathologist Dr. Dick van Velzen. He built up his own stash of children's organs in a basement at Alder Hey.

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