Answers

37 My relative wants to be a donor. What do I need to do when they die?

Inform the healthcare professionals who are involved either with your relative's care or are helping you in the immediate period following their death (this could be a member of the hospital staff, a police officer, a coroner’s officer or a GP) that they wanted to donate. The earlier you are able to tell staff, the more likely it is that donation can take place.

38 Will organs or tissue that are removed for transplant be used for research purposes?

Organs and tissue that cannot be used for transplant will only be used for medical or scientific research purposes if specific permission has been obtained from your family.

39 How is organ donation different from organ retention?

The problems of organ retention arose because proper consent was not obtained from parents or relatives for organs and tissue removed at post-mortem to be kept for research or other purposes. As a result of these problems the law was changed and The Human Tissue Act 2004 and the Human Tissue (Scotland) Act 2006 were introduced. Organs and tissue are only removed for transplantation if permission has been given.

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