How many (a) brains and (b) other organs were retained by hospitals in each of the last 12 months.

The information requested is not available centrally on a monthly basis. The table gives data for the period 1 July 2002 to 30 June 2003 and includes brains and other organs retained for diagnostic purposes following post-mortem examinations instructed by the Procurator Fiscal and carried out in a hospital setting."Retention" has been taken to mean any case where the organs were not returned to the body immediately but were kept, with the agreement of the family, even for a short time, for purposes of diagnosis, or for other purposes such as medical education or research, and then disposed of in consultation with the family.Trust | Brains | Other Organs
Argyll and Clyde Acute Hospitals NHS Trust | 0 | 0
Ayrshire and Arran Acute Hospitals NHS Trust | 6 | 3
Dumfries and Galloway Acute Hospitals NHS Trust | 0 | 0
Fife Acute Hospitals NHS Trust | 0 | 0
Forth Valley Acute Hospitals NHS Trust | 7 | 0
Grampian University Hospitals NHS Trust | 45 | 4
Highland Acute Hospitals NHS Trust | 0 | 0
Lanarkshire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust | 3 | 0
Lothian University Hospitals NHS Trust | 97 | 37*
North Glasgow University Hospitals NHS Trust | 9 | 1
South Glasgow University Hospitals NHS Trust, including the Institute of Neurological Sciences | 46 | 1
Tayside University Hospitals NHS Trust | 0 | 0
West Lothian Healthcare NHS Trust | 0 | 0
Yorkhill NHS Trust | 8 | 0
Note:*The other whole organs are mainly hearts. The number reflects the practice of retaining organs for a short period (between one and several weeks) as part of the active pathology teaching programme which is included in the curriculum of the University of Edinburgh Medical School. The consent of the relatives for the use of these organs in medical education was obtained in every case.