The Human Tissue Bill: the death of pathology?

Abstract

The Human Tissue Bill is now before the UK Parliament. We await the outcome and the codes of practice that will be drawn up following the deliberations of our politicians. The Bill is based upon proposals made by the Retained Organs Commission and the Department of Health following some three years of consultation. The proposals are wide ranging, encompassing retention of tissues removed at surgery as well as autopsy material. Among the proposals are the establishment of a human tissue authority to oversee the use of human tissue, the creation of new offences related to tissue retention, recommendations regarding the use or disposal of ‘unclaimed or unidentifiable human organs and tissue’ and, perhaps most important, the requirement for explicit consent from bereaved families for the use of organs and tissues. The proposals of the Human Tissue Bill are important and far-reaching and have huge implications for the future practice of pathology, for research, and for our understanding of disease, particularly diseases of the nervous system. However, will this Bill do anything to reverse the collapse of autopsy pathology as the benchmark for clinical medicine?