Parents outraged by organ sales of 32 Irish hospitals

Parents for Justice has dis-missed a new telephone helpline set up by the health ministry on the issue as "just another smoke-screen."

Irish courts have little to go by when asked to rule on the matter. A new European Union directive on tissues and cells, to be implemented by 2006, excludes the issue of organ removals.

The government advises citizens on its website that "the law is unclear on the issues arising where organs are retained for research purposes without consent of the person. In most cases there is no law."