Local family's turmoil as hospital retains baby's remains
CHI Crumlin, which retained the remains of Baby Bonnie Fox.
A Waterford family are reeling after learning that their beloved baby girl was buried without her brain.
Bonnie Fox was less than a year old when she tragically passed away in her sleep in January 2021.
Her death left her parents Jenny and Mark, and her siblings, family, extended family and community in complete devastation. Since Bonnie's passing, the Fox family have raised money for charity through fundraisers in her memory.
In September this year, Bonnie's mother Jenny revealed through social media that her child's remains were held inside Crumlin Hospital without her knowledge.
She stated that An Garda Síochána contacted her a few days before Christmas last year to inform her that an audit showed that her child's brain was retained by the hospital.
She also said that she received a letter of apology from CHI Crumlin, but the apology has done little to temper the family's turmoil.
Jenny wrote on the post: "You're sorry you kept part of my baby in a jar? For three years? Or you're sorry there was an audit and you got caught?"
The ordeal has raised questions for the family over why and how the information was held for so long after Bonnie's death.
Jenny wrote: "In the year of 2024 they are doing this? You know why they are doing this? Because they get away with it!"
CHI Crumlin were contacted for a statement. A spokesperson replied: "Children's Health Ireland cannot comment on individual cases. Even if a family decides to make their story public, we are still bound by patient confidentiality."
The matter of organ retention at CHI Crumlin was discussed at a HSE board meeting in September 2023.
Attending the meeting were Minister for Children Roderic O'Gorman and Minister Anne Rabbitte.
The minutes stated that an audit was carried out in December 2021, which identified that organs had been retained at post mortem in CHI at Crumlin and remained, securely stored, in the department.
It read: "These organs were from post mortems performed pre-2020. The retention of organs from the children was the result of a breakdown (or non-commencement) of communication with families or an inadequate capture of information about the family’s wishes regarding organ retention."
