6/7/12 Tissue trade in Hungary is investigated | British Medical Journal | Find Articles FindArticles / Health / British Medical Journal / Feb 28, 1998 Tissue trade in Hungary is investigated by Carl Kovac More Articles of Interest Hidden causes of weight gain: If you're doing everything right but still gaining weight, a medical problem could be to blame. Here, five frequently missed culprits behind excess pounds - Health Using an organizational culture analysis to design interventions for change The sour truth about apple cider vinegar - evaluation of therapeutic use 10 questions your gynecologist wants you to ask: don't be shy? speaking up could save your life Get Ripped in 12 weeks: is your lean bodybuilding physique hidden under a layer of fat? Don't waste another second--shred up for spring with this scientifically designed high- octane training, diet and supplementation program A law suit by a Hungarian woman who alleges that tissue and bone were illegally removed from her dead mother's leg without her consent or that of her family has resulted in an investigation by police and customs officials. In her suit, filed after the woman and her family discovered that part of her mother's leg had been amputated, she contends that a second necropsy had shown that the procedure was not medically necessary, and that the missing tissue and bone had been replaced by cloth rags and wood. The removals were not mentioned in the original necropsy report. To date, police have confiscated 65 packages of human tissue from the Semmelweiss Hospital in Miskolc, where the body was held. The packages were scheduled to be shipped by airfreight to a German firm near Nuremberg, Biodynamics International, which would then sell them to hospitals in Europe and the United States for research and medical use. The company sending the packages, Medic Consult Alapitvany, has contracts with two Hungarian hospitals and has been shipping tissue and body parts to Biodynamics since early last year. Medic Consult said it has received 10 million forints (approximately 2.9m [pounds sterling]) since 1995 for such exports. Investigators said that Biodynamics has received thousands of body parts from Semmelweiss and four or five other hospitals, including some in Budapest, over the past two years. "According to our investigations, organs have been removed from at least 139 bodies," reported Istvan Solymosi, head of the Borsod County Police criminal investigation unit. Dr Lajos Koleszar, the director of Semmelweiss Hospital, said: "We've done nothing illegal. According to Hungarian law, hospitals may use part of the skin, bones, liver, heart, and kidneys for scientific research unless the person specifically asked the hospital not to do so." Carl Kovac, Budapest findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0999/is_7132_316/ai_53499414/ 1/2 6/7/12 Tissue trade in Hungary is investigated | British Medical Journal | Find Articles COPYRIGHT 1998 British Medical Association COPYRIGHT 2008 Gale, Cengage Learning Search ResourceLibrary Search All ResourceLibrary findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0999/is_7132_316/ai_53499414/ 2/2