Human Tissue (Transplantation, Post-Mortem, Anatomical Examination and Public Display) Act 2024

Consent by parent or guardian in respect of deceased child

21. (1) A registered medical practitioner shall not remove any organ for the purpose of transplantation from the body of a deceased child without the appropriate consent.

(2) When seeking consent from a parent or guardian under subsection (1), a relevant professional shall, in accordance with the Regulations of 2012 and any guidelines—

(a) subject to Regulation 24(7) of the Regulations of 2012, provide the parent or guardian concerned with sufficient information, and

(b) inform the parent or guardian, as the case may be, of the effect of subsection (7).

(3) A relevant professional shall not remove any tissues and cells for the purposes of human application from the body of a deceased child without the appropriate consent.

(4) When seeking consent from a parent or guardian under subsection (3), a relevant professional shall, in accordance with the Regulations of 2006 and any guidelines—

(a) subject to Regulation 18(6) of the Regulations of 2006, provide the parent or guardian concerned with sufficient information, and

(b) inform the parent or guardian, as the case may be, of the effect of subsection (7).

(5) (a) Where one of the parents or guardians of a deceased child has provided consent in accordance with subsection (1) or (3), as the case may be, (“the first parent or guardian”) and the other parent or another guardian objects to the consent provided by the first parent or guardian prior to the proposed removal of any organ or tissues and cells for donation, the consent provided by the first parent or guardian shall have no effect and shall be deemed invalid and accordingly no removal under subsection (1) or (3), as the case may be, shall be undertaken.

(b) Without prejudice to the power of the Minister under section 6 to prepare and issue guidelines in relation to any matter provided for under this Act, the Minister shall prepare and issue guidelines under that section for the purposes of providing practical guidance regarding the operation of paragraph (a).

(6) A parent of a deceased child may, for the purposes of this section, consent to the removal of any organ or tissues and cells from the body of his or her deceased child, notwithstanding that the parent has not yet attained the age of 18 years.

(7) A parent or guardian, as the case may be, of a deceased child may amend or withdraw his or her consent, in accordance with this section at any time up to the commencement of the process for the transplantation of the organ concerned or the retrieval of the tissue and cells concerned but no further amendment or withdrawal of consent can be made or may be made once the process for transplantation of the organ concerned or the retrieval of the tissue and cells concerned, as the case may be, has begun.