The HTA has reviewed the current template referral letter to promote greater consistency, reduce variability, and to ensure that all referral letters contain relevant donor information in line with the requirements of the Montgomery judgment.
As part of the review, we have also taken the opportunity to make some other changes.
The Human Tissue Authority (HTA), on behalf of Scottish Ministers, is responsible for assessing all living organ donation cases that take place in Scotland. The HTA also considers allogeneic donation of regenerative tissue where the donor is under 16 or an adult with incapacity in Scotland. Only once HTA approval is in place can these donations go ahead. The Human Tissue (Scotland) Act 2006 (HT Scotland Act) and The Human Organ and Tissue Live Transplants (Scotland) Regulations 2006 (the Regulations) govern living donation in Scotland.
Clinicians and transplant teams are responsible for the overall care of donors and recipients, and for assessing the medical suitability of potential donors. The Regulations require the clinician with responsibility for the donor to refer the matter to the HTA. As part of this referral specific information, certain assurances are required to ensure the legislative requirements are addressed.
The Human Tissue Authority’s (HTA) role in living organ donation is to ensure that there has been no reward sought or offered for the organ donation and that there is valid consent in place for the removal and use of the organ or part organ for the purpose of transplantation.
The HTA regulates establishments in England, Wales and Northern Ireland that conduct licensed activities under the Human Tissue Act 2004 (HT Act). This includes establishments that remove samples from the deceased for certain purposes in the HT Act – called scheduled purposes.
Contact details for medical schools in Scotland can be found here.
There are 5 university medical schools in Scotland:
Aberdeen
Dundee
Edinburgh
Glasgow
St Andrews
The HTA does not regulate medical schools accepting body donations in Scotland.
The Human Tissue (Quality and Safety for Human Application) Regulations 2007 (as amended) (the Q&S Regulations) and the Blood Safety and Quality Regulations 2005 define ‘blood component’ as ‘a therapeutic constituent of human blood (red cells, white cells, platelets and plasma) that can be prepared by various methods’.