Human Tissue Act 2004 (c. 30)

Part 1 E+W+N.I. Removal, storage and use of human organs and other tissue for scheduled purposes

1 Authorisation of activities for scheduled purposes E+W+N.I.

(1) The following activities shall be lawful if done with appropriate consent—

(a) the storage of the body of a deceased person for use for a purpose specified in Schedule 1, other than anatomical examination;

(b) the use of the body of a deceased person for a purpose so specified, other than anatomical examination;

(c) the removal from the body of a deceased person, for use for a purpose specified in Schedule 1, of any relevant material of which the body consists or which it contains;

(d) the storage for use for a purpose specified in Part 1 of Schedule 1 of any relevant material which has come from a human body;

(e) the storage for use for a purpose specified in Part 2 of Schedule 1 of any relevant material which has come from the body of a deceased person;

(f) the use for a purpose specified in Part 1 of Schedule 1 of any relevant material which has come from a human body;

(g) the use for a purpose specified in Part 2 of Schedule 1 of any relevant material which has come from the body of a deceased person.

(2) The storage of the body of a deceased person for use for the purpose of anatomical examination shall be lawful if done—

(a) with appropriate consent, and

(b) after the signing of a certificate—

(i) under section 22(1) of the Births and Deaths Registration Act 1953 (c. 20), or

(ii) under Article 25(2) of the Births and Deaths Registration (Northern Ireland) Order 1976 (S.I. 1976/1041 (N.I. 14)),

of the cause of death of the person.

(3) The use of the body of a deceased person for the purpose of anatomical examination shall be lawful if done—

(a) with appropriate consent, and

(b) after the death of the person has been registered—

(i) under section 15 of the Births and Deaths Registration Act 1953, or

(ii) under Article 21 of the Births and Deaths Registration (Northern Ireland) Order 1976.

(4) Subsections (1) to (3) do not apply to an activity of a kind mentioned there if it is done in relation to—

(a) a body to which subsection (5) applies, or

(b) relevant material to which subsection (6) applies.

(5) This subsection applies to a body if—

(a) it has been imported, or

(b) it is the body of a person who died before the day on which this section comes into force and at least one hundred years have elapsed since the date of the person’s death.

(6) This subsection applies to relevant material if—

(a) it has been imported,

(b) it has come from a body which has been imported, or

(c) it is material which has come from the body of a person who died before the day on which this section comes into force and at least one hundred years have elapsed since the date of the person’s death.

(7) Subsection (1)(d) does not apply to the storage of relevant material for use for the purpose of research in connection with disorders, or the functioning, of the human body if—

(a) the material has come from the body of a living person, and

(b) the research falls within subsection (9).

(8) Subsection (1)(f) does not apply to the use of relevant material for the purpose of research in connection with disorders, or the functioning, of the human body if—

(a) the material has come from the body of a living person, and

(b) the research falls within subsection (9).

(9) Research falls within this subsection if—

(a) it is ethically approved in accordance with regulations made by the Secretary of State, and

(b) it is to be, or is, carried out in circumstances such that the person carrying it out is not in possession, and not likely to come into possession, of information from which the person from whose body the material has come can be identified.

(10) The following activities shall be lawful—

(a) the storage for use for a purpose specified in Part 2 of Schedule 1 of any relevant material which has come from the body of a living person;

(b) the use for such a purpose of any relevant material which has come from the body of a living person;

(c) an activity in relation to which subsection (4), (7) or (8) has effect.

(11) The Secretary of State may by order—

(a) vary or omit any of the purposes specified in Part 1 or 2 of Schedule 1, or

(b) add to the purposes specified in Part 1 or 2 of that Schedule.

(12) Nothing in this section applies to—

(a) the use of relevant material in connection with a device to which Directive 98/79/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on in vitro diagnostic medical devices applies, where the use falls within the Directive, or

(b) the storage of relevant material for use falling within paragraph (a).

(13) In this section, the references to a body or material which has been imported do not include a body or material which has been imported after having been exported with a view to its subsequently being re-imported.

Commencement Information

I1 S. 1 in force at 20.10.2005 for specified purposes by S.I. 2005/2792, art. 2(2)(j)

I2 S. 1 in force at 1.9.2006 in so far as not already in force by S.I. 2006/1997, art. 3(2) (with arts. 4, 7, 8)