Human Organs Inquiry: Implementing the Report

The Bill was published on 4 December 2003 and will have its second reading in Parliament early in 2004.

The need for new legislation on human organs and tissue was recognised initially because of the concerns that came to light during 1999-2000. The public enquiries into events at the Bristol Royal Infirmary and Royal Liverpool Children’s Hospital (Alder Hey) established that organs and tissue from children who had died had often been removed, stored or used without proper consent. In June 2002 the report of the Human Organs Inquiry confirmed that similar practices had occurred in Northern Ireland. It was clear that the current legislation was not as comprehensive or clear and consistent as it could be; therefore it is to be repealed and replaced with the Human Tissue Bill.

The purpose of the Human Tissue Bill is to provide a consistent legislative framework for issues relating to whole body donation and the taking, storage and use of human organs and tissue. It will make consent the fundamental principle underpinning the lawful storage and use of human bodies, body parts, organs and tissue and the removal of material from the bodies of deceased persons. It will set up an over-arching authority which is intended to rationalise existing regulation of activities like transplantation and anatomical examination, and will introduce regulation of other activities like post mortem examinations, and the storage of human material for education, training and research. It is intended to achieve a balance between the rights and expectations of individuals and families, and broader considerations, such as the importance of research, education, training, pathology and public health surveillance to the population as a whole.

The Bill will repeal and replace the Human Tissue Act 1961, the Anatomy Act 1984 and the Human Organ Transplants Act 1989 as they relate to England and Wales. It will also repeal and replace the Human Tissue Act (Northern Ireland) 1962, the Human Organ Transplants (Northern Ireland) Order 1989, the Anatomy (Northern Ireland) Order 1992 and the Corneal Tissue (Northern Ireland) Order 1988.