FEW people would attach the same emotional significance to a urine sample as they would to the heart of a dead child. But if the UK鈥檚 proposed Human Tissue Bill becomes law as it stands, scientists will have go through exactly the same consent procedure to retain either for research.
The bill was introduced in the wake of high-profile scandals in which doctors kept organs of dead children without the knowledge of parents. Everyone agrees that consent must be obtained in such cases, but the researchers think the proposed legislation goes too far.
It would require consent for research on blood and urine samples, as well as tissue removed during surgery, such as a cancer biopsy. 鈥淚t鈥檚 like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut,鈥� says Robert May, president of the Royal Society. He believes that research and teaching will suffer.
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However, the bill is currently being amended. Diana Garnham, chief executive of the Association of Medical Research Councils, is hopeful that the new version will at least take into account the distinction most people draw between tissue from living and dead patients. 鈥淲e would be pretty surprised if the bill wasn鈥檛 altered.鈥�