Relevant Material – Human Tissue Act

The definition of relevant material falls under Section 53 of the Human Tissue Act 2004. It means material, other than gametes, which consists of or includes human cells but does not include embryos created outside the human body, or hair and nail from the body of a living person. The key definition of relevant material is a sample known to contain anything from a single cell upwards that has come from a human body and includes clearly identifiable material such as bodies, organs and tissues. It also includes bodily waste products, microscope slides, plastinated material and plastinated body parts (where the cellular structure is retained by the plastination process). More information on this can be found in the HTA’s List of materials considered to be ‘relevant material’ under the Human Tissue Act 2004. Examples of relevant material include: nail (from deceased person), bile, blood, nasal and bronchial lavage, bone marrow, stem cells (derived from the body), bones/skeletons, umbilical cord, placenta, brain, breast milk, organs, platelets, fluids (including sputum, saliva, pus, urine, mucus, amniotic, cerebrospinal, pleural, cystic, pericardial), primary cell cultures, skin, faeces, hair (from deceased person), teeth and tumour tissue samples.

Examples of material that would not be considered relevant under the Act include: antibodies, nails and hair (from living person),  breath condensates and exhaled gases, plasma (unless it contains small numbers of platelets and other blood cells), cell lines, nucleic acids (DNA, RNA), eggs (ova), sperm cells (spermatozoa), in vitro embryos and  embryonic stem cells (created outside the body), sebum, cellular extracts (including cell lysates, organelles, proteins, cytoplasmic fractions, and lipids), serum, sweat and lysed cells