Organ donation and transplantation

This position statement is intended to notify transplant units, donors and recipients of the HTA’s current position.

If a donor requests, in advance, to re-direct their organ to a secondary recipient; the HTA would need to be satisfied that there is no duress, coercion and reward involved in the re-direction. For example, a father donating to his child at the same time that his wife also requires a transplant. In the unlikely event that the organ cannot be transplanted into the child, he may wish for the organ to go to his wife instead.

This is an explanation of the measures that transplant units should take when preparing living organ donors for the very rare possibility that their organ/part organ (which is otherwise transplantable), cannot be transplanted into the intended recipient. The purpose of this process is to ensure that living donor organs are not “wasted”.

The Human Tissue Act 2004 (Persons who Lack Capacity to Consent and Transplant Regulations) 2006 (the Regulations) requires the donor’s consent for a specified purpose. 

In part, the Human Tissue Act 2004 was introduced to ensure that living organ donors have made an informed and voluntary decision to donate their organ; free from duress, coercion and reward. Organ trafficking and modern day slavery is a concern for all healthcare professionals.

IAs submit reports using the HTA Portal. This is a secure system which is data protected. The system allows IAs to write their reports electronically, upload supporting documents and save them before submitting them online to the HTA.

The Portal also includes a link to the Guidance to Transplant Teams and Independent Assessors for IAs to refer to when writing their report. 

If you are interested in finding out more about becoming a living organ donor, please contact your local transplant team who will be able to provide you with more information: 

IAs are independent of the transplant unit, the donor and recipient. This independence allows the HTA to fulfil its role to help protect the interests of the donors by ensuring they have the opportunity to speak freely to someone not connected with the transplant unit, confirming that their wish to donate is free from any pressure to act against their will.

IAs act as a representative of the HTA to ensure the requirements of the Human Tissue Act 2004 (The HT Act) and associated Regulations are met in all cases of living organ donation.

It is an offence under the Human Tissue Act 2004 (The HT Act) for the donor to receive a reward for donating an organ/part organ.

All donors are asked to provide a signed declaration confirming there is no reward associated with the organ donation and transplantation.  The declaration should be read and signed by the donor, or person consenting on the donor’s behalf either in the IAs presence or provided to the IA to submit to the HTA.