The Alder Hey scandal sparked an inquiry and legislation

Their solicitor told the BBC they would seek compensation and hoped legal action would end their ordeal.

Health Secretary John Reid expressed sympathy for the families, and the hope every case could be satisfactorily resolved.

He said the NHS no longer retained organs without consent, and the ban would be reinforced by new legislation before Parliament.

Last year the families of children whose organs were removed at Alder Hey hospital received �5,000 each.

'Compensation rejected'

The Daily Express reported the new claim relates to hospitals all over the country and that the plaintiffs had rejected an offer of �1,000 per family.

Mervyn Fudge, the solicitor representing 1,500 of the families, told BBC Breakfast there were 2,150 plaintiffs seeking compensation for their grief and suffering.

He said: "The only course of action for the parents was through the courts. They want to be able to show that what was done to their loved ones was illegal."

We need to be treated fairly Ruth Webster Parent 'My son's brain was taken Q&A: Organ retention

One of the parents, Ruth Webster, whose baby Ellen's organs were taken by Leeds General Infirmary, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme the families had no other option than to go to court.

"We need to be treated fairly. Other families in other areas have been offered substantially more than we were offered and it just seems so unfair that they are saying their children were worth more than ours.

"It will not be easy for us. It will be incredibly painful. It is the last thing any of us want."

In the Alder Hey case, parents of dead children whose body parts were stored were paid �5,000 compensation.

HAVE YOUR SAY The NHS will have to find the compensation from already hard pressed budgets Rachel, UK Send us your comments

The scandal at the Merseyside hospital, which came to light in the 1990s, also led to an audit across the health service which had prompted hundreds more families to come forward demanding compensation.

Parents discovered that in some cases, following the death of their children in hospital, the bodies had been returned for burial or cremation minus one or more internal organs.

Occasionally this resulted in a second, or even third, funeral as parents demanded the return of these parts, years after the death of their child.

Legislation

Many institutions, particularly research units, were storing scores of tissue samples dating from decades earlier.

The scandal prompted new legislation designed to make the practice illegal.

Under the Human Tissue Bill currently before Parliament, doctors removing organs without consent could face up to three years in prison.

The Express reported that more than 130 trusts represented by the NHS Litigation Authority have been approached by the claimants.

A spokesman for the authority told the Express keeping organs had been regular practice.

"The claimants will have to convince the court that the entire medical profession has been acting illegally for the last 40 years," he said.

Dr Reid said every case could not be treated in the same way as the circumstances were different.

But he added: "We have certainly got a great degree of sympathy and understanding for any parent who finds themselves in this position, which is why we have changed the law.

"Hopefully in the future this can never happen again.