Alistair Cooke's daughter speaks out

LONDON, Oct. 20 (UPI) -- The daughter of legendary British broadcaster Alistair Cooke says more needs to be known about global trafficking in body parts such as happened to her father.

The New York undertaker hired to cremate the Rev. Susan Cooke Kittredge's famous father was one of seven funeral directors who pleaded guilty Thursday to a ghoulish scheme to harvest bones and tissue from dead bodies for surgical implants, The Times of London reported. The newspaper said the illegal harvesting of body parts is a multimillion dollar business.

Cooke Kittredge, a Vermont pastor, said, "I have always believed the more we know about this, the better off we'll be."

Medical records reveal that the longtime British host of Masterpiece Theatre and "Letter from America" author for BBC radio, had his arms, legs, pelvis and tissue removed after his body was sent to Timothy O'Brien's New York Mortuary Service in 2004. Cooke, 95, died of lung cancer March 30, 2004.

Investigators say medical records had the broadcaster's first name misspelled; the cause and time of death, his age and Social Security number were also incorrect.

Also, the consent form purporting to authorize body part donations incorrectly listed his daughter as Susan Quint of the Bronx.