BOSSES at Blackpool Victoria Hospital are keen to reassure the public it does not keep organs from dead bodies without consent.

Chief executive of the NHS Trust for the hospital, David Gill, issued a statement in the light of the investigation into Alder Hey Children's Hospital, Liverpool.

"This Trust provides a pathology service and therefore carries out post-mortems when they are required by the coroner, or requested by a hospital consultant to establish a cause of death", he said.

"However, the Trust would like to reassure families of loved ones that it has not been the practice of this Trust to retain organs following post-mortem examinations."

It was discovered that over a period of many years at Alder Hey, thousands of organs were removed from the bodies of children during post-mortem examinations without the full consent of the parents.

Secretary of State Alan Milburn has announced measures are being put in place to ensure the events of Alder Hey can never be repeated.

A helpline has been set up for worried relatives which is manned from 9am-5pm Monday to Friday on (01253) 303538.