CONSENT: noun: permission for something to happen or
agreement to do something.
It is the issue upon which the whole baby-organs scandal centred. Yet,
despite an official inquiry, there is still no agreement over how to formalise
the way doctors ask relatives for the right to investigate the dead.
Last month, Britain’s chief medical officer, Liam Donaldson, launched a
proposed code of practice for pathologists. It includes forms which oblige
doctors to seek informed consent for every stage following someone’s death.
“Good has come out of Alder Hey,” says a spokeswoman for the Department of
Health. “Informed consent is now…
