Mum was given her baby's remains in supermarket carrier bag

A terminally ill mother says she was "horrified" after she was handed her baby's remains in a supermarket carrier bag by NHS officials.

Lydia Reid's son Gary was a week old when he died in 1975. She later discovered his organs had been removed for tests without her permission and only received them last month after almost 50 years of campaigning.

The 74-year-old, told BBC Scotland she was visited last month by the head of NHS Lothian as well as another senior NHS official.

"I thought they were coming to help me sign some papers. When they arrived I noticed one of them was carrying a Sainsbury's carrier bag," Ms Reid said.

"Then they said they wanted to complete the list of body parts in case anything had been missed out. She handed me the Sainsbury's bag and said she wanted me to check them now."

Inside the carrier bag was a six-inch box containing body parts preserved in wax.

"I was so shocked and said 'How dare you. That is the only parts of my son and you want to hand them to me in a carrier bag.

"I was absolutely horrified. She said she didn't realise it would be a problem."

Tracey Gillies, medical director for NHS Lothian said: "I would like to repeat publicly the apology we made to Ms Reid in person for the upset and distress this has caused.

Ms Reid has been a leading figure in the Scottish campaign to expose how hospitals unlawfully retained dead children's body parts for research.

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Source: BBC News, 23 March 2023