Consent for Tissue Research in Organ Donation Pathways

It is well-known that donation of human organs for transplantation saves thousands of lives each year. What is less often discussed, however, is how each organ donor could also make multiple, smaller-scale donations of tissue for research purposes. Donation of tissues which cannot be extracted in life has significant potential to amplify the impact of the donor’s gift. It can support biomedical research that otherwise could not take place. Yet, many national registers for organ donation focus solely on transplantation, and do not provide for research as an option.  

This workshop explores how existing channels for organ donation could be expanded to include routine tissue donation for research purposes. With speakers from academia, clinical practice and NHS Blood and Transplant, we will consider the challenges to making donation of research tissue a regular aspect of organ donation, and the potential benefits of a ‘Dynamic Consent’ approach. As well as presentations, the workshop will involve interactive brainstorming sessions.

Find the programme here. 

Numbers are limited, so if you would like to attend (in-person or online) please contact miranda.mourby@law.ox.ac.uk.