Access to organs and tissues for research from the organ donor pool within the UK

The donor organ transplant scenario offers one potential route to access high-quality human organs and tissues for research. There are well-established networks for co-ordinating organ donation events across many countries, including the UK, which include robust mechanisms for obtaining consent for ethically-approved research. Within the UK, the challenge for the next few years is to facilitate this research donation with respect to regulatory pathways directed by the Human Tissue Act, which covers all aspects of access to human tissues.