A heartbroken mother and father, Ann and Gerry Stark, have claimed that the NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde health board concealed the true nature of the return of their deceased son’s body tissue. Struggling with tremendous grief, Ann Stark exposed their accusations of dishonesty when she discovered that part of her son Richard’s spleen was still held by the NHS, four years after his death in Glasgow.

She has requested an apology from the Lord Advocate who assured her months earlier, in August, that all of Richard’s tissue had been returned to them, weeks before she realised the NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde still had more.

Richard Stark, a Bothwell-based accountant, was only 25 when he succumbed to a lethal seizure in 2019. His mother discovered his lifeless body at home. Ann and Gerry strongly believe their son would still be alive if he had been prescribed medication after experiencing an earlier seizure.

However, the debacle surrounding Richard’s post-mortem has led his parents to go public with their adverse experience. It’s a standard procedure for the Procurator Fiscal to instruct post-mortems to discover the cause of death and the return of tissue samples is a matter for health boards.

From the onset, Ann expressed her wishes for a non-invasive post-mortem to the authorities. Despite her request, an invasive post-mortem was pursued – one that led to the removal of Richard’s brain, tongue, and throat, along with multiple tissue samples. The Stark family were kept uninformed about these details.

Ann recalled her horror when she discovered what had taken place during Richard’s post-mortem. Upon discussing the tissue samples with the Procurator Fiscal, she was informed that they didn’t belong to any specific individual, to which she retorted, “That’s my son, I gave birth to him”. She described the entire process as “barbaric” and “horrific”, comparing it to the gruesome acts of Burke and Hare.

The devastating ordeal of piecing together how many samples were taken from Richard and where they were stored has left the family emotionally drained. They received numerous stored samples in 2020, and Ann was even reassured by the Lord Advocate Dorothy Bain that everything was returned in August that same year.

Yet, in a shocking discovery, NHSGGC consultants revealed in November that there was still spleen tissue. This revelation greatly angered Ann as she had repeatedly enquired about any possible remaining samples of her son, only to be assured that everything was returned.

Ann and Gerry rightfully demand respect and compassion from the health board, who they accuse of deceit and a cover-up. They also called for Lord Advocate Dorothy Bain to issue a personal apology for the misleading contents of her August letter.

Today, they will collect the remaining spleen tissue from a hospital in Glasgow. Ann fondly remembers her son Richard, his joyful spirit, love for golf, and his strong bond with his father and brother.

She is now campaigning for reforms in the post-mortem procedure, focusing on compassion and respect. Ann insists on families being offered tissue samples of their loved ones as a default procedure under the law.

Labour MSP Monica Lennon has supported the Stark family in their quest for justice, openly condemning NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde for their mishandling of Richard Stark’s post-mortem. She labelled it a “national scandal” and emphasised the potential far-reaching implications.

While the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service expressed their understanding of the deep distress experienced by The Stark family and regretted the misinformation relayed to them, a spokesperson for NHSGGC explained that their contact with both the Crown Office and the Stark family had been ongoing for some years and assured that they’re deeply sorry for any errors that have added to the family’s grief.