A distraught family are demanding answers after the body of their much-loved grandfather was flown back to the to UK – WITHOUT his heart or kidneys.
David Humphries, from Milton Keynes, died after collapsing during a family holiday to Egypt last month.
After the 62-year-old’s body arrived home, a coroner requested a second post-mortem examination because the results of an autopsy in Egypt were inconclusive.
It was then that doctors discovered Mr Humphries’ heart and kidneys had been removed.
Devastated daughter Anita Goodall, 36, said: “We are totally in shock and don’t know what to do or think. We don’t know why this has happened to us.
“Dad will be buried without his heart. Some say that the heart is the soul and it is the heart that takes you to heaven, but dad won’t have his heart to take with him.
“Dad was such a kind and generous man. He was still working and seemed so fit and so full of life. Everyone who knew him will miss him.”
Mr Humphries and wife Lynda, 59, who have four children and six grandchildren, had gone on holiday to Makadi with daughter Anita, her husband, and their two children on September 7.
Less than a week into the holiday, Mr Humphries, a mechanic, visited a doctor with chest pains.
The following day, on September 14, he was taken to hospital where he was admitted overnight.
Four days later he collapsed while playing in the pool with his grandchildren. He was taken to hospital, where despite attempts to resuscitate him he died.
A post-mortem examination was carried out in Egypt. The family flew home on September 22 and David’s body returned to the UK on October 1 via Dubai.
Mrs Humphries, who was married to Mr Humphries for 39 years, said: “Dave was the most loving, careful and generous man who lived for his family. He just loved spending time with all of us.
“One minute he was playing in the pool with the grandkids and the next he was slumped over with his eyes in the back of his head.
“I will never forget seeing him in so much pain and feeling so helpless that I couldn’t do anything for him.
“It is bad enough trying to come terms with his death. When Dave came back to England we were told that his body had started to decompose so we were advised not to see him as they would be lasting memories that we would not like to hold.
“I’m devastated that I will never get to say goodbye to Dave or tell him one last time that I love him.
“We just want answers as to why he returned to the UK with parts of him missing.”
Mr Humphries’ family has now instructed lawyers at Irwin Mitchell to investigate.
Debbie Manders, the legal expert at Irwin Mitchell who is representing the family, said: “This is a terrible situation for the family to find themselves in.
“It is difficult enough to lose a loved one abroad but to then find organs missing when a person is repatriated to the UK has just added to the pain the family is suffering.
“The laws surrounding the removal of organs in Egypt are very strict. We are working with lawyers in Egypt to find out what has happened so we can provide David’s family with much-needed answers.”
In a bid to reduce organ trafficking, the full removal of organs is illegal under Egyptian law.
The hospital insists the body left them intact.
A Foreign and Commonwealth Office spokesperson said: “We are assisting the family of the British man who died in Hurghada on 18 September.
"Our staff in Cairo continue to request further information from the Egyptian authorities to share with both the family and the UK coroner.”
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