A pathologist secretly ordered the removal of organs from dead children and kept the body parts in a filthy cellar, a medical tribunal has heard. Some organs had deteriorated as they had been retained for so long, and pot labels were wearing off due to damp. Professor Dick van Velzen, 55, worked at Liverpool’s Alder Hey Children’s Hospital at the height of the organ retention scandal from 1988 to 1994. He has failed to appear before a General Medical Council (GMC) panel. Prof van Velzen, from Oegstgeest in Holland, is accused of carrying out post mortem examinations and keeping children’s organs without their parents’ consent, during his six years in the hospital’s pathology department. He is charged with serious professional misconduct, but has chosen not to attend the GMC’s Fitness to Practice hearing in Manchester nor send any legal representation on his behalf.
