‘Cooling corpses’: Section 43 of the Human Tissue Act 2004 and organ donation

Clinical Ethics

Volumn 2, Issue 1, 2007, Pages 23-27

  Sangster, C ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF LIVERPOOL   (United Kingdom)

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[No Author keywords available]

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EID: 84992884130     PISSN: 14777509     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1258/147775007780267282     Document Type: Article

References (31)

1. Veatch R. Consent for cold perfusion and other dilemmas with organ procurement from non-heart-beating cadavers. In: Arnold R, Schapiro R, Mason Spicer C, eds. Procuring organs for transplant: the debate over non-heart beating cadaver protocols. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1995 195-206
2. These issues have been discussed in Brazier M. and Fovargue S. A brief guide to the Human Tissue Act 2004. Clinical Ethics Vol 1, No 1 and McHale J. “Appropriate Consent” And The Use Of Human Material For Research Purposes: The Competent Adult, Clinical Ethics Vol 1 No 4
3. Brazier M. Retained organs: ethics and humanity. Legal Stud 2000; 22: 550-69
4. Taylor JS. Stakes and kidneys. Why markets in human body parts are morally imperative. Aldershot: Ashgate Publishing Ltd, 2005 at 5
5. For example a survey of 2000 people conducted by the BBC in August 2005 as part of the ‘DoNation season’ ‘Would-be organ donors stay silent’ available via http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/4165656.stm
6. Barber K, Falvey S, Hamilton C, Collett D and Rudge CJ. Potential for organ donation in the United Kingdom: Audit of Intensive Care Records. BMJ 2006; 332: 1124-7
7. Non-heart beating organ donation is divided into planned and unplanned donors. The planned group involves the planned withdrawal of care and is outside the scope of this paper. The unplanned group includes accident victims declared dead on arrival at hospital who are transported to A&E rather than the mortuary, and people who die of sudden cardiac arrest, brain injury, anoxia, stroke and major trauma on the way to, or in hospital despite resuscitation attempts by medical staff.
8. Mason MK, Laurie CT, Aziz M. Mason and McCall Smith's Law and Medical Ethics. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006 at 500
9. Brook NR, Waller JR, Richardson AC, et al. A report on the activity and clinical outcomes of renal non-heart beating donor transplantation in the United Kingdom. Clin Transplant. 2004; 1: 627-33; Dunlop P, Varty K, Veitch PS, Nicholson ML, Bell PR. Non-heartbeating donors: The Leicester Experience. Transplantation Proc. 1995; 27(5): 2940-1
10. Dr Evan Harris MP, HC Deb vol 423 col 122 28th June 2004 - s43 ‘is important and should not be overlooked. It provides an opportunity for us to set clearly the rules for cold perfusion, and use non heartbeating donation as a way to increase the number of organs that are available from that source. That has not had the attention that it deserves because the issue was not that contentious, but it may be significant’.
11. Human Tissue Act 2004 s2 (children) and s3 (adults)
12. http://www.dh.gov.uk/NewsHome/Speeches/SpeechesList/Speeches Article/fs/e n?CONTENT_ID=4090922&chk=3gdp%2B7> Speech by Rosie Winterton MP, Minister of State, 2 October 2004.
13. Bos MA. Ethical and legal issues in non-heart-beating organ donation. Transplantation 2005; 79(9): 1143-7
14. Personal communication, Dept of Health official, July 2005
15. This secondary principle of statutory interpretation operates to limit the scope of general words by implication, where they are associated with more limited (genus describing terms) words. The principle is not absolute; if it can be seen from a wider inspection of the scope of the legislation that the general words ought to be construed generally, they should be so construed, notwithstanding that they follow more specific expressions.
16. Code of Practice 2 Donation of Organs, Tissue and Cells for Transplantation. Human Tissue Authority: July 2006 para 77
17. Liddell K, Hall A. Beyond Bristol and Alder Hey: The Future Regulation of Human Tissue. Med Law Rev 2005; 13(2): 170-223, at 207
18. Beating-heart transplant UK first http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/5041054.stm
19. New B, Solomon M, Dingwall R, McHale J. A question of give and take. Improving the supply of donor organs for transplantation. King's Fund Report Research Paper 18 (1994) at 66
20. Sells RA. What is transplantation law and whom does it serve? Transplant. Proc. 2003; 35(3): 1191-4
21. Codes of Practice are sources of quasi law, usually not legally binding but which are often followed in practice. See R (on the application of Munjaz) v Mersey Care NHS Trust [2005] UKHL 58 (Mental Health Codes of Practice); Montgomery J. Health Care Law. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003 at 15-19; Ward R, Wragg A. Walker and Walker's English Legal System. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005 at 39-41
22. British Transplantation Society Guidelines Relating to Solid Organ Transplants from Non-Heartbeating Donors. (2004) www.bts. org.uk/standards.htm
23. Dworkin G. The law relating to organ transplantation in England. Mod Law Rev 1970; 33(4): 353-77
24. Approximately 24% of people who were organ donors in 2004-2005 were on the ODR so the views of the family are decisive in 76% of cases - UK Transplant Data ‘Measure of Success’ available at http://www.uktransplant.org.uk/ukt/statistics/statistics.jsp
25. Required request and routine are very similar strategies and generally used interchangeably. Although the emphasis in routine inquiry is to inform the family of the options relating to organ donation and in routine request to actually request organ donation, it is not clear whether the strategies are implemented differently or have any affect on organ donation rates: Andersen KS, Fox DM. The impact of routine inquiry laws on organ donation. Health Affairs 1988;65-78 at 69
26. Organ donation in the 21st century: time for a consolidated approach. London: British Medical Association, 2000 at 20
27. Bell MDD. The Human Tissue Act and Consent: surrendering a fundamental principle to transplantation needs? J Med Ethics 2006; 32(5): 283-6 at 283 28 Veatch RM. Transplantation ethics. Washington DC: Georgetown University Press, 2000 at 170; Gill MB. Presumed consent, autonomy, and organ donation J Med Philos 2004; 29(1): 37-59
28. ‘Survey shows huge support for organ donation’ http://www.uktransplant. org.uk/ukt/newsroom/news_releases/article.jsp?releaseId=47 (sample of 1206 people in March 2003)
29. Tottoczko T. Presumed consent: what does it mean? Transplantation Proc 2003; 35(3): 1195-7 at 1196
30. Sade RM. Increasing organ donation: a successful new concept. Transplantation 2002; 74(8): 1142-6
31. Price D. The Human Tissue Act 2004. Mod Law Rev 2005; 68(5): 798-821 at 821