Launch of public consultation on display of human bodies

The HTA has launched a consultation on the public display of human bodies, body parts and human tissue.

Issue date: 15 May 2006

The HTA is asking both professionals and the public to comment on draft guidance for professionals (known as a code of practice) on public display. The consultation will run until 28 June 2006.

The HTA was set up under the Human Tissue Act 2004 (HT Act) to regulate the removal, use and disposal of human tissue and organs. Consent is central to the HT Act and is the cornerstone of the HTA’s regulatory system, which is designed to give confidence to professionals, patients and their families.

From 1 September 2006, the HTA has responsibility for licensing the public display of whole bodies, body parts and human tissue from the deceased – if they died after 1 September 1906. Under the HT Act, public display of a whole body, body parts, or tissue also requires the consent of the person to whom it belongs, whether they are living or deceased.

Adrian McNeil, Chief Executive of the HTA said: “In all the activities across our remit, what concerns us is that bodies or body parts are treated with respect and with appropriate dignity.

“If the person applying for a licence for the display can show that proper consent has been given and the other licensing requirements are met or being worked towards, then there is no reason why a licence should not be issued.

“It is particularly important that professionals and the public alike should comment on the codes so we have a better understanding of their interests. We want them to be accessible to, and used by, as wide a range of people as possible.”

Dr Kate Robson-Brown, Senior Lecturer in Biological Anthropology and Graduate Dean of Arts at the University of Bristol, and HTA member said: "Across the UK, institutions such as museums and universities hold collections of recent human remains which are of immense value to medical and anthropological research and teaching. The Human Tissue Authority will provide a regulatory framework within which researchers, lecturers, students and the public can continue to learn from and work with these collections in an environment of mutual respect".

Contact

For further information contact Stuart Giblin at the HTA 020 7211 3416 stuart.giblin@hta.gov.uk

Notes to editors

1. The Human Tissue Authority (HTA) was established on 1 April 2005 to regulate the removal, storage, use and disposal of human bodies, organs and tissue for a number of ‘Scheduled Purposes’ – such as research, transplantation, and education and training – set out in the Human Tissue Act 2004 (HT Act).

2. The HT Act covers England, Wales and Northern Ireland. There is separate legislation in Scotland – the Human Tissue (Scotland) Act 2006 – and the HTA will perform certain tasks on behalf of the Scottish Executive (approval of living donation and licensing of establishments storing tissue for human application).

3. As the regulator under the HT Act, the HTA is responsible for licensing a number of activities and carrying out inspections to ensure licence conditions are being met. These licensable activities are:

• The carrying out of an anatomical examination
• The storage of human bodies for anatomical examination and related research
• The carrying out of post mortem examinations, including removal and storage of human tissue
• The storage and use of human bodies or parts for public display
• The storage of human tissue for other Scheduled Purposes.

The HTA is also responsible for approving transplantation of organs and bone marrow from living donors.

4. The HT Act makes consent the fundamental principle underpinning the lawful storage and use of body parts, organs and tissue from the living or the deceased for specified health-related purposes and public display.

5. The new legislation directly affects a number of sectors: pathology services, anatomy schools, the transplant community, establishments storing tissue for human application or research purposes, and sites displaying human material, such as museums.

6. The HTA recently issued its first ever licences under the HT Act, to banks storing tissue for transplants. These licences will make sure that tissue like heart valves, corneas and skin, are stored in a safe way for patients. This milestone made the UK compliant with the EU Tissue and Cells Directive. All other sectors will be licensed from 1 September 2006.

7. One of the HTA's statutory functions is to issue Codes of Practice. These Codes provide advice and guidance on the main areas that fall within our remit, and lay down the standards expected of practitioners. We have already consulted on a number of codes (including a code on Consent) and the post-consultation versions are available on our website.

8. The Code of Practice on public display has been drafted by members of the HTA's temporary working group on public display who were drawn from the museums, exhibitions and collections sectors, as well as lay members of the Authority.

9. The HTA is holding a consultation workshop event at the Royal College of Surgeons in London on 22 June to inform it revisions to the Code. This event will be preceded by a seminar for potential licence holders to explain the licensing requirements, which have already been published on the HTA website.

10. A person will need to be appointed (known as a Designated Individual) to supervise compliance with the licensing arrangements under the HT Act. People will be able to apply online for a licence from early July 2006. The application form for public display has four themes:

• Consent (of the person from whom the displayed materials comes)
• Governance and quality systems
• Premises, facilities and equipment (e.g. the safety of the public)
• Disposal of the body or body parts (respect and dignity of the person)

11. Comments on this consultation are welcome via email at consultation.responses@hta.gov.uk. Please include your name, title and organisation / address details in your response. For more information please contact Mandip Kaur Mandip.Kaur@hta.gov.uk on 020 7211 3414.

12. For more general information on the HTA, we have recently published a leaflet on the HTA

ENDS