York parents are turning to lawyers for help to find out what happened to their dead children's organs.

Some may join a mass legal action for compensation for the psychological damage and hurt they feel they have suffered.

The Evening Press has reported the anguish of several couples from the York area in the wake of the Alder Hey organ retention scandal.

York Health Services NHS Trust has written to more than 100 people who have made inquiries about what happened after their children had died.

Some have been told it was likely their babies' organs were removed during post-mortems, but given ambiguous accounts of what happened next.

Some have been told that organs were either returned to the body or "subsequently disposed of in accordance with the procedures current at the time."

Now medical negligence specialist Ian Pryer, of York solicitors Langleys, says several people have already sought his assistance in obtaining more information.

"People are contacting me both bewildered about what to do and also extremely upset at what they are finding out," he said.

He said some parents had also asked if they could take legal action. He had recently been to a meeting in London involving solicitors from all over the country, representing clients in similar positions, to discuss the potential course of action against the trusts involved and it was likely a mass action would be pursued.

He was examining the whole issue of damages, including compensation for the psychological hurt and suffering that parents had experienced.

York Health Services NHS Trust chief executive Simon Pleydell has said previously that the trust has tried to tell the truth about what happened to their loved ones. "The Trust is being absolutely open to all those involved," he said.

In some cases it had been able to state no organs had been retained. But in other cases, records, some going back many years, did not allow the Trust to be precise about what happened in every case.

However, organs were usually kept for a limited time to allow complete and thorough examination. In a very small number of cases, organs had been retained for longer periods for specific legal or medical reasons.

Updated: 11:06 Friday, June 15, 2001