The Human Tissue Act 2004 set out a new legal framework for the removal, storage and use of tissue and organs from the deceased. The Act also established the Human Tissue Authority as the regulatory body for these matters.
The Authority published six codes of practice on the removal, storage, use and disposal of human tissue and organs, which were laid before the Northern Ireland Assembly on 19 July 2006 and notified to the HPSS by the acting chief medical officer in August. All trusts in Northern Ireland are required to comply with these codes. In addition, the DHSSPS has issued a “Careplan for Women who Experience a Miscarriage, Stillbirth or Neonatal Death” and explanatory booklets to accompany the consent forms that are used to record a family' s wishes in respect of a hospital post mortem examination and the removal, use and disposal of human tissue.
Parents who have suffered a stillbirth or miscarriage are given oral and written information and asked whether they wish to have their baby or the tissue that was in the womb examined pathologically. This would involve a post mortem examination or histopathological examination in a laboratory. They will also be asked how they wish the remains to be disposed of, which can be arranged either by the hospital or the family.
Depending on the decisions taken by the family, the remains may be stored in a mortuary or pathology laboratory. All babies greater than 12 weeks’ gestational size have their post mortem examination carried out in the Royal Hospital's mortuary. The return of a baby, foetus or miscarriage tissue to a family may be via a funeral director or directly to the family.