The HTA traceability licensing standards aim to ensure that procedures to identify the deceased are robust. This is important to protect the dignity of the deceased.
T1(a): Bodies are tagged or labelled upon arrival at the mortuary.
T1(b): There is a system to track each body from admission to the mortuary to release for burial or cremation (for example, mortuary register, patient file, or transport records)
Sands, the stillbirth and neonatal death charity, have developed model consent forms, information and guidance for health professionals seeking consent for post mortems on babies who have died before, during or shortly after birth. The aim is to make it easier for health professionals and parents to discuss post mortems and will ensure that parents can make informed choices.
The disposal of pregnancy remains, which are considered to be the mother’s tissue, is not within the scope of the HTA’s regulatory remit.
The HTA was asked by Professor Dame Sally Davies, the then Chief Medical Officer, in 2015 to develop guidance in this area and work with other organisations to monitor compliance.
Some schools and colleges store human material for use in teaching. Such specimens could include cells on a microscope slide, specimens preserved in formalin, skulls, and partial or complete skeletons.
Under the Human Tissue Act 2004 (‘the HT Act’), human material which contains cells is called ‘relevant material’.
Detailed FAQs on how and why we regulate mortuaries where post mortem examinations take place.
