Organs returned after 50 years
Gary Holswich had no idea when he buried his baby son 50 years ago that doctors had taken some of the child’s vital organs for research.
Now, half a century after little Mark’s death, his father is to finally have the boy’s heart and lungs returned so they can be interred with the rest of his body.
‘‘As far as we were concerned he was buried whole, but unbeknownst to us they kept his heart to test things for how they could save others with the same issues,’’ Holswich said.
He hadn’t thought twice about whether his baby boy and first child had been buried whole until the Green Lane Hospital scandal in 2002, when hundreds of parents found out the Auckland hospital had been taking organs for research without permission.
‘‘When I rang to see what the story was I found out that not only did they have his heart, they had his lungs too.’’
Holswich said he went numb when he heard what had happened.
‘‘It was a bit of a shock. It hit me like a ton of bricks. I wish they had have asked.’’
Mark James Holswich was born on July 23, 1968 and died three days later due to multiple heart complications.
‘‘Poor little man, he just never had a chance,’’ Holswich said.
Mark was born in New Plymouth with a hole in his heart and blocked valves. Holswich was told they had to baptise him as soon as possible as Mark was to be whisked up to Green Lane Hospital for surgery.
In 2002 Green Lane, the first hospital to perform open-heart surgery in New Zealand, admitted to storing more than 1300 hearts dating back to the 1950s, many of which were taken without consent in post-mortems.
When news of the scandal broke Gary thought ‘that was around the time Mark was at Green Lane’.’’
When Gary contacted the hospital in 2002 to ask about Mark he was told they had used and were still using Mark’s organs for research.
‘‘We never got an autopsy report until 2002 and it was quite complex.’’
A forgotten stash of body parts, slices of tissue, and unclaimed amputated limbs were also discovered at Green Lane Hospital around the same time.
In 2008 a group of parents banded together to sue the hospital, which ended in private settlements, but Holswich didn’t want to be a part of it.
‘‘I decided with my ex-wife to leave the organs there as they were still using them for research, but we did a deal with Green Lane that if at any point we wanted them back, or they were finished with them, they were to return them at their expense.’’
Mark’s organs will be returned to Holswich and buried with the rest of his body on Tuesday.
The Holswich family belong to the Nga¯ ti Ra¯ hiri iwi and Gary Holswich has been gifted the iwi cloak for the burial.
He said in Ma¯ ori culture organ transplants and removal were considered a ‘no no’.
‘‘It’s going to be a big day on Tuesday.
‘‘It was a difficult decision to bring him home because of Ma¯ ori culture. Some Ma¯ ori would say bring him home right away so I was torn between that.
‘‘We’ll have a karakia at the burial and our pastor will say a few words.’’
Holswich decided now was the right time as it is 50 years since Mark’s birth and death.
‘‘Now is the time to bring him home, 50 years is long enough. It will be a final closure.
‘‘The organs could end up saving some of our wha¯ nau, I don’t know.’’
Holswich went on to have two other sons. Both have been involved in the process of getting Mark’s organs returned.
‘‘I’ve spoken to my eldest son, Paul, and I thought ‘if anything happens to me then it’s up to him to do it’ and then I thought ‘no I don’t want that on him’.
‘‘It’s up to me now and I’m not getting any younger.’’
Holswich started the process to have Mark’s heart and lungs returned in January.
‘‘There’s a lot of paperwork involved and they’ve provided a certificate of authenticity to prove that they are his.
‘‘The hospital has been great, Rhonda Holloway from the heart registry has been outstanding and so helpful with all our questions.’’
Holswich said when the organs are returned and buried with Mark it will be a huge relief.
‘‘We think about it all the time since we found out and I just kept thinking when will I do it.’’
Holswich just hopes the research for which Mark’s heart was used has helped others.
‘‘I’m only hoping that someone else has been saved because of Mark.
‘‘I’m quite proud of that, that my little fella has helped somebody.’’
‘‘As far as we were concerned he was buried whole, but unbeknownst to us they kept his heart...’’ Gary Holswich