Researchers fear that a knee-jerk reaction to the Alder Hey body parts scandal could hit vital medical research and teaching.

In the wake of the Redfern report, medical schools insist procedures to obtain informed consent to retain human tissue have been, or are in the process of being tightened.

A census by chief medical officer Liam Donaldson revealed that more than 13,000 specimens were being held by English medical schools. While a large proportion were acquired decades before the full consent of patients or relatives became recognised as essential, academics said fresh samples were vital to research and teaching.

Kenneth Fleming, head of medical sciences at Oxford 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ, said consent procedures were being improved. "There has been increasing awareness that standard practice in terms of getting full and informed consent was inadequate," he said.

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Dr Fleming said he feared the furore may make people reluctant to participate in research. This could put projects such as Oxford's pioneering work on the progression of Alzheimer's Disease in peril.

Nick Wright, deputy principal of the Imperial College School of Medicine, London, said many of the institution's 5,222 specimens were national collections such as the multiple sclerosis tissue bank, all acquired with the express permission of relatives.

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Professor Wright admitted that, in the past, Imperial researchers may not have fully explained what the term "retained tissue" meant when gaining consent, but said this had been corrected over the past 18 months.

"I'm worried that we're going to get swingeing, reflex legislation that will handicap the way we do things," he said.

The official report into the Alder Hey scandal was critical of Liverpool 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ and the hospital, listing a catalogue of management failings.

It said mistakes must be learnt from, disciplinary action for those responsible should be considered and "a full and humble apology from both would be an excellent starting point".

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Philip Love, vice-chancellor of Liverpool 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ, said in a statement: "The university will now further review its practices in the light of the report's findings and recommendations."