Professional
Licensing exemptions
There are licensing exemptions in the HT Act 2004 and further specific exemptions in the HT Act 2004 (Ethical Approval, Exceptions from Licensing and Supply of Information about Transplants) Regulations 2006.
These regulations came into force on 1 September 2006.
The exemptions are summarised below according to whether the material is from the living or deceased.
How licensing works under the Human Tissue Act
The Human Tissue Act covers primarily England, Wales and Northern Ireland; only section 45 and schedule 4 of the Human Tissue Act include Scotland. There is separate legislation in Scotland – the Human Tissue (Scotland) Act 2006 – and the HTA performs certain tasks on behalf of the Scottish Government.
Application forms and guidance
You should read the relevant guidance document before you start to fill in the application form.
The guidance documents will tell you:
- who should complete the form;
- which sections of the form you need to complete; and
- the documents you need to submit along with your application.
Do I need a HTA licence?
Our flowcharts help you decide if your activity requires a HTA licence.
News
Keep up-to-date with the latest news and events from the HTA.
Current vacancies
The Human Tissue Authority (HTA) is the national independent regulator for organisations that remove, store and use tissue for research, medical treatment, post-mortem examination, teaching and display in public. We also give approval for organ and bone marrow donations from living people. With the interests of the public and those we regulate at the centre of our work, we aim to maintain confidence by ensuring that human tissue is used safely and ethically, with proper consent. The HTA is currently recruiting for the jobs below.
Social media guidelines for anatomists – how they came about and how they link to the HTA
I think the vast majority of people would agree with me that social media has become a huge part of how we communicate and keep informed, be that sharing a photo of a day on Instagram, tweeting about a recently published article or sending an update about work on WhatsApp. As somebody recently put it to me, social media can be a blessing and a curse, and this has never been truer than during the current COVID-19 pandemic since almost everyone has been forced to communicate using online technologies, including anatomy educators.
The Independent Assessment process
Once a donor has been deemed medically and clinically suitable to donate by their medical practitioner the donor will be required to attend an independent assessment. An independent assessment is an interview which is carried out by an Independent Assessor (IA) who is trained and accredited by the HTA. The IA interviews the donor and recipient both separately and together on behalf of the HTA and is independent of the healthcare teams who are involved with the medical process.
Legislation
Find out more about the legislation that forms the core of our regulation.