Professional guidance on travelling for organ transplantation
On 1 July 2022, amendments were made to the Human Tissue Act 2004 and the Human Tissue (Scotland) Act 2006, so that the offences under sections 32 and 20 respectively were extended to have extraterritorial jurisdiction. These offences relate to financial or commercial dealings in human material for transplant, such as buying or selling human organs.
In practice, this means that any person who is resident in England, Wales, or Scotland is committing an offence if they are involved in seeking, offering, or receiving payment or reward for donating organs for transplantation or initiating, negotiating, advertising or being involved in buying or selling human organs for transplantation, anywhere in the world.
The Human Tissue Act 2004 (Supply of Information about Transplants) Regulations 2024 and the Human Tissue (Supply of Information about Transplants) (Scotland) Regulations 2025 make it mandatory for relevant clinicians in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland to report:
- a reasonable suspicion that an organ transplantation related offence may have been committed under the Human Tissue Act 2004 or the Human Tissue (Scotland) Act 2006 or Modern Slavery legislation
- information about a patient who has received an organ transplant outside the UK.
By requiring clinicians to report these cases, the burden placed on clinicians to decide whether recipients or donors should be reported (for example, at the risk of breaking patient trust) is lifted.
Who needs to report
“Relevant clinicians” in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland are under this obligation to report to the HTA, which comprises:
a. a specialist nurse involved in living donor care
b. a specialist nurse involved in recipient care
c. a transplant surgeon
d. a physician involved in living donor care, and
e. a physician involved in recipient care.
What must be reported
- Reasonable suspicion of organ donation and transplantation-related offences
- Any patient who has received an organ transplant outside the UK
How to report
- Email report@hta.gov.uk within 7 working days of becoming aware
- Complete the HTA form sent to you within 3 working days