Human tissue legislation
Guidance from the BMA’s Medical Ethics Department
September 2006
On 1 September 2006 the bulk of the Human Tissue Act 2004 (covering England, Wales and Northern Ireland) and the Human Tissue (Scotland) Act 2006 came into force. The scope of the two pieces of legislation differs with the 2004 Act being far more wide ranging than its Scottish equivalent.
This guidance sets out the main provisions of each Act, and describes the principal ways in which they impact on clinical and research practice. There are a small number of areas, such as living organ donation, where the procedures are the same across the UK and these are covered at the end.
This guidance is intended as a brief introduction to the new legislation with signposts to where to find more detailed information. Clearly, however, this type of document cannot cover every situation and individual advice may also be sought from the Medical Ethics Department.
The new legislation will directly affect:
- post-mortem services
- anatomy schools
- the transplant community
- establishments storing tissue, and
- sites displaying human material, such as museums or exhibitions
Download the guidance in PDF format (146k)
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