Up to 1,000 dead babies and children up to the age of 15 were sent to medical schools by nuns and religious institutions up to the 1970s.
The latest shocking revelation emerged this morning in the fifth interim report from the Mother and Baby Homes commission.
The 950 dead children came from religious institutions primarily in Dublin between 1920 and 1977.
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The report says: “The Combined Anatomical Register of the Dublin Medical Schools records that all but 18 of the children received as anatomical subjects were “illegitimate” children.
“Children used as anatomical subjects in the Dublin Medical Schools were aged between 10 minutes and 15 years at the time of death”.
The report also confirmed that initial investigations into a burial ground at the Sean Ross home in Tipperary has produced evidence of dead babies dumped there after birth.
The scandal first emerged in 2014 when dead babies were discovered in a septic tank at a Mother and Babies Home in Tuam.
But in what will be a huge disappointment to many campaigners, the Commission has decided that there is not enough evidence to warrant an excavation at Bessborough in Cork.
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The latest report is the fifth interim report, with Minister for Children, Katherine Zappone telling reporters that the final report is now due to be published in February next year.
This is after the commission requested a number of delays because of the overwhelming volume of work they unexpectedly had to deal with.
Ms Zappone said: “This is a significant piece of work from the Commission that addresses important issues relating to the burial arrangements at these institutions.
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“The Commission is collating a huge amount of material and examining the matters before it in a way never before possible.
“This report reflects the sheer depth and complexity of the work the Commission is undertaking.
“I know that that many former residents and their family members have been patiently awaiting this report and believe that it will assist in bringing clarity to this matter.”
