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Patients unaware that they received stolen body parts

Three hospitals have refused to notify patients who had orthopaedic procedures with bone products that were illegally sourced in the United Stated, stating that the risk of patients developing HIV or other serious diseases was "negligible".

Contaminated Body Parts

Medical ethicists and lawyers have condemned the hospitals, saying that patients have the right to know if they received implants obtained without the donor's consent and that doctors cannot rule out the risk of contamination as it's not clear if any screening of the body ever took place.

The hospitals involved are all in London - Barts and the London, and St George's and Guy's and St Thomas'.

Investigation into body snatching

The outcry comes a year after US officials announced they had launched an investigation into a body snatching ring suspected of plundering tissue from more than 1,000 cadavers in the New York area.

Irwin Mitchell, a law firm representing six British patients who are considering suits against the US tissue processors, said that because of the falsification of records doctors could not rule out the possibility of illnesses such as cancer and CJD.

Clive Garner, a partner with Irwin Mitchell, said: "Where tissue is significantly older than had been thought this may have considerable long-term consequences in terms of degeneration and possible knock-on effects for the recipient's general health."

At the end of 2005 the Brooklyn district attorney's office announced it was investigating several undertakers, last October the director of one funeral home and several other undertakers pleaded guilty to being involved.

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