A independent review group, led by Professor Sheila McLean, has proposed a far-reaching shake-up of the existing legislation, which dates back some 40 years.

Prof McLean is an ethics expert at Glasgow University and was asked to report on the matter by Health Minister Susan Deacon.

The review group's report, Organ Retention at Post-Mortem, calls for a range of legal controls to be introduced to regulate what happens to a child's body after death.

The group also looked at the treatment of adults and recommended that their wishes should have precedence over the wishes of their relatives after death.

The group's key recommendations included:

• all hospital post mortem examinations must be authorised by relatives, including whether any organs are removed and for what purpose;

• clarification of the right of an adult to make a legally binding disposition of his or her body after death;

• reassessment of who should have the power to speak on behalf of that person where no expressed wishes have been left;

• penalties for those who breach the provisions of that authorisation, or who act without authorisation;

• stronger monitoring and policing roles for research ethics committees;

• new information leaflets for families on all of the issues relating to hospital post-mortem examinations;

• new authorisation forms, one for adult post-mortem examinations, one for post-mortem examinations on children.

The report was launched in Edinburgh on Friday and will be put out for consultation, although it has already been broadly welcomed.

Members of a support group, formed by parents who discovered their children's organs had been retained without authorisation after post-mortem examinations, said they were satisfied and would no longer seek a public inquiry.

At the report's launch, Prof McLean said: "The law as it stands is vague and uncertain. It is confusing for relatives - but also for the doctors who work in these fields.