THE death of a child must be every parent's worst nightmare.

But to discover years down the line that your baby has been buried or cremated with body parts missing must be the most heart-wrenching news to bear.

But that is the grim reality facing the parents of Preston children Kathleen Allen and Elaine Procter who have just discovered that parts of their dead children's bodies were removed by doctors without their consent.

Worse still, after removing the tiny organs the 'body snatchers' stored them in laboratories at Alder Hey Children's Hospital in Liverpool where they were retained without the parents' knowledge for research purposes.

The 500-page Redfern report into organ retention details horrific cases of organs being removed and body parts being handled as a 'piece of meat' without dignity or respect.

It details the horrific case of 18-month-old Kathleen Allen who died ten years ago during heart surgery at Alder Hey. All the little girl's organs -- including her tongue -- were retained by medical chiefs.

The report states: "Neither parent knew that Kathleen would be opened up and organs retained. They would have consented had they known."

Another Alder Hey case was Elaine Procter who died in 1965, aged eight-months-old, following surgery.

Despite holding a second funeral last January to bury her heart and lungs, Elaine's family have now been told that her entire breathing tract, including tongue, were kept.

Professor Peter Morgan-Capner medical director of Royal Preston Hospital and Chorley and South Ribble NHS Trust said patient's body parts have been retained at the RPH.

He said: "All the body parts retained by the Trust have been done so with the full knowledge and consent of the families involved.

"Historically the amount of information given to families was not as full as it should have been and there are lessons to be learned."