A COUPLE whose lives were torn apart by the Alder Hey organ scandal are hopeful that a judge will rule that they can claim compensation from the hospital.

Bill and Denise Green, together with the hundreds of families, will hear early next week if they will be given the green light to sue after a decision at the High Court in London.

The parents, of Hulton Avenue, Walkden, lost their 18-month-old son William, in 1994.

They only found out five years later that many of his organs had been removed and stored.

Denise, aged 45, said she was confident that the families would be given the opportunity to fight for compensation.

She said: "Money won't bring our child back but it is a way of easing what took place.

"All the families have gone through so much and there has been a lot of financial losses involved, such as time off work. So any money would definitely help."

William was born six weeks premature and with a heart condition.

He was transferred to Alder Hey Hospital, on Merseyside, and underwent open heart surgery, but died days later.

When Bill and Denise buried their son they were told not to take his bonnet off, but did not suspect anything untoward had happened.

Even years later when the first organ scandal began at Bristol and then Alder Hey, they did not realise William could have been affected.

They contacted the hospital and were sent a letter detailing what organs had been taken, which included his brain and genitals.

At the end of last year, they were informed another part of the little boy's brain had been stored at a different hospital and in March they held a third burial at Agecroft cemetery, in Salford.

Alder Hey issued an official response to the report into the scandal yesterday.

It said it reiterated its apologies to parents and said it had already made a number of changes to its procedures.