As well as providing regulatory oversight and guidance to our sectors, we take an active role in supporting our establishments to ensure they deliver to a high standard and are equipped to overcome challenges.

We work to ensure the safe and trusted use of human tissue in our regulated sectors by improving compliance, supporting innovation and developing a strong reputation as an expert regulator. 

When carrying out our activities, we take a pragmatic and constructive approach to regulation. 

As a result, our impact as a regulator is largely achieved through our core functions of licensing, inspection and providing guidance.

The Human Tissue Authority (HTA) regulates six key areas:

We are the statutory regulator for ensuring that the removal, storage and use of human tissue is undertaken safely, ethically and with proper consent across a variety of settings.

This includes when they are used for medical treatment, education, research, public display, and are subjected to post-mortem examination.

We also approve all organ donations from living people in the UK.

The review explains what we do, what we achieved and some of the challenges we faced in 2023/24