The UK鈥檚 new Human Tissue Act could be a mixed blessing.
The legislation, which came into force on 1 September, should prevent a repeat of the 1999 Alder Hey hospital scandal, in which it was discovered that more than 2000 organs removed from dead children without permission had been stored in a basement at the Liverpool hospital. Now researchers conducting post-mortems on children in England, Wales and Northern Ireland must gain a parent鈥檚 consent before retaining any tissue.
However, that provision could make it more difficult to investigate the progression of childhood diseases, the Royal College of Pathologists warns. Although it broadly supports most of the Act, tissue samples taken from children provide a valuable archive for doctors comparing the course of diseases. Such material may now become more difficult or even impossible to collect in the future, says RCP president Adrian Newland. 鈥淵ou then lose material you might need to go back to.鈥�
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This contrasts with Scotland, says Newland, where children鈥檚 tissues are automatically kept after a post-mortem. 鈥淚t鈥檚 considered part of the child鈥檚 health record,鈥� he says.
