Mark Lowdell

Director of the Paul O’Gorman Laboratory of Cellular Therapeutics at the Royal Free Hospital, London

Tissue for human application sector

“There’s no doubt about it – the HTA has raised standards in areas where it was needed. Tissue banks have strived to meet standards, because licensing increases the quality and safety of tissue used for transplantation. Once the Human Tissue Act was passed, there had to be an Authority to get it to work on the ground. I think it is working, and everybody is teaching each other.

“The HTA is not a faceless Authority. I think the licensing of tissue banks has been an excellent aspect of the HTA’s work. People like Sandy Mather, the Director of Regulation, have come to professional meetings, stood up, presented the case for the HTA, and explained how it is going to perform as a regulator.

“From that perspective, the HTA has a face that people are familiar with, and I think the consultation process has worked well.”