Resources for journalists

On this page, you will find our guide to human tissue legislation which will help with editorial decisions and programme production as well as fact sheets.

Guide to human tissue legislation

The Human Tissue Authority (HTA) is a watchdog that supports public confidence by licensing organisations that store and use human tissue for purposes such as research, patient treatment, post-mortem examination, teaching, and public exhibitions. We also give approval for organ and bone marrow donations from living people.

The HTA works under two laws: the Human Tissue Act 2004 (HT Act) and the Human Tissue (Quality and Safety for Human Application) Regulations 2007 (Q&S Regulations).

We have produced a guide to human tissue legislation which addresses some of the areas that we think are most likely to be an issue for the media. The guide also aims to provide guidance on human tissue legislation to editorial departments within media outlets.

Download our guide to human tissue legislation for journalists

Factsheets for journalists

The Organ transplantation and the role of the Human Tissue Authority (HTA) factsheet is available for download on the left.

UK living donation timeline

Download our UK living donation timeline

Three Way diagram

Download our three way transplant diagram