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8 Med. L. Int'l 1 (2006-2007)

handle is hein.journals/medclint8 and id is 1 raw text is: Medical Law International, 2006, Vol. 8, pp. 1-21 0968-5332/06 $10 © 2006 A B Academic Publishers-Printed in Great Britain HUMAN TISSUE LEGISLATION AND MEDICAL PRACTICE: A BENEFIT OR A BURDEN? SHEILA A.M. McLEAN University of Glasgow* ALASTAIR CAMPBELL University of Bristol KERRY GUTRIDGE University of Bristol HELEN HARPER University of Glasgow ABSTRACT The scandals surrounding organ removal and retention throughout the United Kingdom provoked several Inquiries and ultimately led to law reform. Although the medical professions were well represented at the Inquiries, little was heard of the voices of those at the 'coal face'. In this scoping study, funded by the Wellcome Trust, we interviewed a number of doctors and others engaged in the uses of human tissue and organs to explore their hopes, concerns and fears about the role of the law in their practices. We found that those involved in transplantation were more aware of, and more actively involve with, the law, whereas others, such as pathologists, had less direct engagement with the law. Most of those we interviewed expressed the hope that law reform would provide much-needed clarity. Although some expressed concern that the law might be over-intrusive, most felt that the placing of authority firmly in the hands of the person him or her self to decide what should happen to their bodies was to be welcomed. INTRODUCTION The controversies that were exposed by the Inquiries in Bristol,t Alder Hey2 and Scotland3 following discovery of the unauthorised removal and retention of organs at post-mortem examination raised a number of serious professional and ethical questions. However, they *Corresponding author.

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