Lydia Reid

Lydia Ann Reid ( – June 2023) was a Scottish activist. She advocated the cause of parents who lost a child as an infant, and may have had their child's remains inappropriately used for research, or disposed of, and without consent.

Birth and death of her son At age 26, Reid gave birth to her a premature son, Gary Robert Paton, by Cesarean section, on 26 June 1975. When he was six days old, he was transferred to the Royal Hospital for Sick Children ("Sick Kids") in Edinburgh for surgery to remove a catheter. The baby was placed on life support after surgery on 2 July, with reported brain damage. His mother agreed to a request by medical staff to terminate life support. He was briefly returned to life support by the hospital, but the hospital sent police to inform them that night that the child had died.

A local funeral service showed her the child before burial, but she claimed that the child they showed her was not her baby; Gary was smaller and had different hair colouring. The funeral staff denied this and argued that she was confused by postnatal depression. It was estimated that the organs or bodies of over 100,000 foetuses and stillbirths were being stored in medical labs, many either without any consent, or consent obtained in a way that rendered the parent unable to make an informed decision.

News of the scandal prompted Reid to check with Sick Kids Hospital. She obtained medical records showing that his organs had been removed, despite assurances from the hospital to the contrary. Reid formed a network with other parents, called Justice For The Innocents. , Reid continued to press for information about her son and to get his organs returned to her for burial. She died in Edinburgh June 2023, at the age of 74.