A couple in China were devastated to find that a hospital had failed to keep the new mother's placenta and that it had been stolen by a cleaner.
The parents had asked the cleaner to return it to them but were shocked to find that the cleaner had already cooked and eaten it. The husband, Lu Yanggang said they wanted to bury the placenta in their home town in line with their village's culture. The pair reside in Anhui City.
Lu's wife went into labour and gave birth to a baby boy at Wuxing Subdistrict Community Health Service Centre in Changzhou on the afternoon of March 24. They were told to come back for the placenta later as it would have to be sent for inspection.
The family were furious and shouted at members of staff at the hospital.
Dr Li Wenwu, deputy head of the service centre explained new parents can only take away the placentas unless it is cleared of any pathological diseases.
'Mrs Lu gave birth on Friday afternoon and normally we will keep the placenta when waiting for blood test results. But her results came early on Saturday and we have checked that she did not request to take away, so we treated the placenta as medical waste and bin it,' Dr Li stated.
He also added during the process, a cleaner took the placenta away from the bin.
The cleaner had already been reported to Wuxing Street police station and both parties agreed to settle.
Dr Li admitted this incident had revealed a faulty system in the safe keeping of placentas. He said there was a lack of education with hospital staff on medical values.
Human placentas, also called as 'Ziheche' in Chinese medicine, claim to have high nutritious value. It is thought to stop post-natal depression.
It is also claimed to cure premature ejaculation for men.
While some people believe that the high content of hormones and protein can improve a person's skin.
However Chinese doctors advise people not to buy or consume any placentas that have not gone through professional checks and sanitation.
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