A MOTHER who found herself embroiled in the Alder Hey baby organs scandal has welcomed plans to make hospitals double check stores to see what body parts they still have.

For Wendy Bury, of Oswaldtwistle, the decision by the newly-formed Retained Organs Commission to launch the definitive probe is finally proof that steps are being taken to make sure no-one suffers the agony she has over the past 18 years.

Wendy's son, Carl, died during an operation to repair a hole in his heart just after his first birthday in September 1983.

For the next 17 years, Wendy, who has three other children, believed her son was laid to rest at the town's Immanuel Church.

Then, last summer, she was told doctors at The Royal Liverpool Children's Hospital -- or Alder Hey -- had kept hold of her son's heart, windpipe and oesophagus. at the old Myrtle Street hospital.

Despite an exhaustive inquiry doctors have not been able to confirm whether they have any more of Carl's parts.

The Retained Organs Commission has now instructed hospitals to draw up a full list of what organs it has on site amid fears some may have been overlooked in previous checks.

Previous checks carried out during the Alder Hey inquiry revealed no body organs were kept at hospitals in Burnley or Blackburn, while up to 49 organs had been retained at the Royal Preston Hospital, where many of East Lancashire's critical patients are sent.

Today, Wendy, of Union Road, Oswaldtwistle, said: "I know I will never know if any more of my son's organs are lying around somewhere because no records were taken.

"The fact that Jean-Marie Bouton, who was in charge of the pathology unit at the time of Carl's death, cannot be punished because he is too ill to be questioned has upset me because it has felt as though nothing has been done to bring the lessons to bare.

"The creation of the new commission and its instruction for all hospitals to search stores has pleased me because it looks as though the lessons are now being learnt and steps are being taken to make sure no-one ends up in the same situation as me.

"I would never wish that anguish on anyone. The worst thing is I will never know if they have anything else."

Prof Margaret Brazier, who chairs the commission, said: "I realise that this will take time and mean a further delay before people can get the information they want.

"We apologise if this causes distress but we need to make sure, once and for all, that the information given to relatives is accurate. Failure to get it right this time would be the worst thing we could do."