Organ donation and transplantation

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.

The HTA has reviewed the current template referral letter to promote greater consistency, reduce variability, and to ensure that all referral letters contain relevant donor information in line with the requirements of the Montgomery judgment.

As part of the review, we have also taken the opportunity to make some other changes.  

The Human Tissue Authority (HTA), on behalf of Scottish Ministers, is responsible for assessing all living organ donation cases that take place in Scotland. The HTA also considers allogeneic donation of regenerative tissue where the donor is under 16 or an adult with incapacity in Scotland. Only once HTA approval is in place can these donations go ahead. The Human Tissue (Scotland) Act 2006 (HT Scotland Act) and The Human Organ and Tissue Live Transplants (Scotland) Regulations 2006 (the Regulations) govern living donation in Scotland.