The Human Tissue (Transplantation, Post-Mortem, Anatomical Examination and Public Display) Bill 2022 passed through the Dáil on 8 November. The Bill provides a comprehensive legal framework for the donation of organs for transplantation, the carrying out of post-mortem examinations, the use of bodies and body parts for anatomical examination and education, and the public display of bodies and body parts.
The Department of Health says the Bill will embed in law the idea that consent, where appropriate, is the defining principle across these sensitive areas and will introduce safeguards to protect the integrity of the human body before and after death. Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly said the Bill, “will not only protect the rights and dignity of individuals and their families but also support medical research and education”. The Human Tissue Bill has been drafted to legislate to provide:
The Bill introduces a new statutory requirement for consent across all of these activities as well as safeguards to protect the integrity of the human body before and after death and to prevent any organ retention without consent in the future.
In terms of organ donation and transplantation, the Human Tissue Bill introduces a soft opt-out system of consent for organ donation. Under this system, consent for organ donation will be deemed unless the person has, while alive, registered his/her wish not to become an organ donor after death. This is a change from the current system where decisions on organ donation are the responsibility of the next-of-kin and assumes that an individual has a desire to donate their organs after their death unless they make a statement of objection to donation.
The Irish Kidney Association (IKA) welcomed the inclusion of an agreed amendment committing the Minister to review the operation of the Organ Donation Opt-out register no later than three years after the commencement of the legislation. The IKA had been advocating for the inclusion of an opt-in register to operate alongside the proposed opt-out register. This would replicate the practice in the UK where the public are invited to record their organ donation decision, thus providing a central database where people’s organ donation decisions could be captured
The Bill will now proceed to the Seanad for consideration.
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