Code A: Introduction

1. The Human Tissue Authority’s (HTA) regulatory remit is defined in the Human Tissue Act 2004 (HT Act). The HTA regulates the following activities through licensing:

• post-mortem examination
• anatomical examination
• public display of tissue from the deceased
• the removal and storage of human tissue for a range of purposes, including research, medical treatment, education, and training.

2. The HTA also assesses applications for organ, bone marrow, and peripheral blood stem cell (PBSC) donations from living people.

3. Further information about the legislative background and context of the HTA (including geographic coverage) and its Codes of Practice is set out at Annex A.

4. This code is part of a suite of seven Codes of Practice produced by the Human Tissue Authority (HTA):

• Code A: Guiding principles and the fundamental principle of consent;
• Code B: Post-mortem examination;
• Code C: Anatomical examination (including import/export);
• Code D: Public display (including import/export);
• Code E: Research (including import/export);
• Code F: Donation of solid organs and tissue for transplantation, Part one: Living organ donation;
• Code F: Donation of solid organs and tissue for transplantation, Part two: Deceased organ and tissue donation;
• Code G: Donation of allogeneic bone marrow and peripheral blood stem cells (PBSCs) for transplantation.

5. The Codes give practical guidance to professionals carrying out activities which lie within the HTA’s remit under the HT Act and the Human Tissue Act 2004 (Persons who Lack Capacity to Consent and Transplants) Regulations 2006 (the Regulations). Code A also applies to professionals carrying out activities under the Human Tissue (Quality and Safety for Human Application) Regulations 2007 (Q&S Regulations) and The Quality and Safety of Organs Intended for Transplantation Regulations 2012 (as amended) (Statutory Instrument (SI) 2012 No. 1501) (the Q&S (Organs) Regulations). They will also be of interest to members of the public.

6. The HTA Codes of Practice provide guidance on activities within the scope of the HTA’s remit. Whilst the HTA may offer advice on matters outside its remit, it has no power to act in relation to these and will endeavour to provide signposts to other agencies where issues arise that are beyond its regulatory reach.

7. The Codes do not include information about the analysis of DNA. This is because the HTA has no regulatory or statutory powers in relation to the non-consensual analysis of DNA, for which the provisions are set out in Section 45 of Part 3 and Schedule 4 of the HT Act. Separate guidance in the form of Analysis of DNA under the HT Act is available on the HTA’s website.

8. This Code contains information that is applicable to all establishments and professionals operating under the HT Act and the Regulations. It sets out four guiding principles on which the work of the HTA is founded and which should inform the actions of anyone undertaking activities falling within the remit of the HTA:

• consent
• dignity
• quality
• honesty and openness

9. In combination, this Code and the sector-specific Codes aim to provide anyone undertaking activities relevant to each sector with a reference source which gives practical advice on the minimum steps necessary to comply with the relevant legislation and HTA policy.

10. The Code is divided into three sections:

• Section One sets out the HTA’s four guiding principles.
• Section Two explains, in detail, the importance of consent as the fundamental guiding principle explicit in the HT Act. All those involved in the removal, storage, and use of human tissue, whether from the deceased or the living, should take into account the general provisions on consent set out in this section.
• Section Three provides guidance on the statutory requirements for consent. The requirements that apply when dealing with tissue from the deceased are different from those that apply to tissue from the living; these are set out in Parts Two and Three, which are further divided into consent requirements for adults and for children.