Outrage as tissue returned after baby's burial

Tiny Lazariah Mar only had four days of life.

"He was a very sick baby," grandmother Mary Ngakoti said, "looked healthy on the outside but had problems with his heart, a weak heart."

He died on August 24 and two days later the Northland whanau buried what they thought were his complete mortal remains.

This week Lazariah's father Peter opened a letter from the Auckland District Health Board (ADHB) telling him to pick up the baby's tissue.

"For all the whanau it has been a horrible experience," Miss Ngakoti said.

Tai Tokerau MP Hone Harawira yesterday said the baby had been buried without a heart but the ADHB said the infant's thymus gland had been taken.

Seven months into her pregnancy, Cairo Thompson was told her unborn would be born ill.

She was moved from Waiomio, near Kawakawa, to Auckland Hospital where Lazariah was born on August 20.

At Waiomio Miss Ngakoti was nursing her mortally ill father.

Surgeons in Auckland said Lazariah would need two major operations immediately.

"They explained that he may pull through, but cannot guarantee it," Miss Ngakoti said.

"My son had expressed, in writing, that if Lazariah passed away during his stay in hospital, that all his organs and tissues removed be given back to us before we left the hospital with baby."

Miss Ngakoti's father died as Lazariah underwent the second operation.

"The operation went well but next day Lazariah passed away."

Peter and Cairo left Auckland Hospital with the baby.

"Nothing is going through your mind properly at the time and as far as we knew we were walking out the door with everything," she said.

Grandfather and new-born were buried together on August 26.

Last weekend the ADHB letter arrived.

"It said their records showed we wanted back the tissue that was removed."

The parents and the whanau were stunned.

"There were a few not very nice words came out of his mouth, it was very devastating for both of them. They felt they had lost him all over again."

They had to drive to Auckland to pick up the tissue which included the heart.

"It was botch up, I see it as a botch up," she said.

"Everyone we talked to from the hospital have expressed their sorrow about the whole thing."

Miss Ngakoti said ADHB had told them they would receive a formal letter of apology and they would meet with the whanau to discuss what had happened.

She told Tai Tokerau MP Hone Harawira what had happened because she wanted people to be alert to what could happen to others. People needed to be sure as they left hospital with a body that everything was there.

"Its very heart breaking to go through this process all over again, a month later."

ADHB operations manager Ngaire Buchanan said they were sorry for the "misunderstanding and miscommunication which has caused this whanau further distress at what is already a very upsetting time for them".

They were investigating why it happened.

Mr Harawira said he just wanted to cry.

"And I'm bloody angry as well, because Auckland DHB should know how important these things are to Maori people," he said.

"No issue about surgeons doing what they think needs to be done, but body parts removed during surgery should be returned to the body for burial."

- © Fairfax NZ News