WYCOMBE Hospital and John Radcliffe Infirmary have set up helplines for parents worried about what happens to their children's bodies after death, in the wake of the Alder Hey scandal.

Wycombe Hospital had 11 calls on Wednesday, after national news stories about doctors storing children's body parts at Alder Hey Hospital in Liverpool without parents' consent.

The bodies of all children who die at Wycombe Hospital and who need a post-mortem examination are sent to the John Radcliffe, because the examination must be carried out by a paediatric pathologist.

The hospital may retain the brain after the examination, as it is a centre for the study and treatment of brain disease. Brains from dead adults and children are sent there from all over the country.

Children's brains are used in research into such conditions as cot death and epilepsy.

The Oxford hospital has 4,400 brains in storage, the second largest stock of body parts in the country, according to national figures released by Chief Medical Officer Prof Liam Donaldson on Tuesday.

About ten per cent of the brains would be children's said a spokesman at John Radcliffe. The hospital does not keep other body parts.

Neither Wycombe Hospital nor the Oxford Radcliffe Trust could say yet whether there were any brains from children from this area.

They have set up helplines so bereaved parents can find out what happened to their children's bodies after death.

Jenni Thomas, from the national charity the Child Bereavement Trust based in West Wycombe, said the Oxford hospital carried out the post-mortems with the utmost sensitivity.

"Families in this area don't need to be concerned. Nothing like Alder Hey has happened here

"The John Radcliffe does not retain children's body parts."

Mrs Thomas dealt with queries from five families yesterday morning and was able to reassure them.

But she said : "One worry is that all this will mean that nothing will be kept. But we really do need to keep things for research to stop children dying."

A Wycombe Hospital spokesman said parents of children who had died at Wycombe should call the hospital's helpline on 01494 734966. The Oxford helpline is 01865 222177, and the Child Bereavement Trust line is 0845 601 4235