Research using Relevant Material

Any research activity within the University that involves the use of relevant materials as defined under the Act including organs, tissues and cells have to follow strict Standard Conditions and,operate in accordance with Governance Arrangements for Research Ethics Committees (GAfREC) .  This means researchers must ensure their use of human tissue has been ethically approved through an NHS research ethics committee (NHS REC) and the appropriate consent is in place. Researchers wishing to undertake research involving human tissue must consult with the University’s Designated Individual prior to the commencement of any research to ensure the research proposals go before the University HTA Management Committee and are submitted to an NHS REC.

If your NHS REC-approved research involves the procurement of material then a procurement licence and material transfer agreements will have to be arranged. You will need to contact your Departmental PD as early as possible to arrange this.

The HTA has published guidance on the use of relevant materials for research in the form of a Code of Practice

Relevant material under the Act stored for research purposes is exempt from the HT licencing requirements if the tissue is:

  • Held for a specific NHS REC-approved research project
  • From a person who died over 100 years ago
  • Stored pending transfer elsewhere providing it is held for a matter of hours or days and certainly no longer than a week and with approval from the DI or a nominated representative of the University HTA Management Committee
  • Held whilst it is processed with the intention to render the tissue acellular providing the processing takes a matter of hours or days and certainly no longer than a week and with approval from a representative  of the University HTA Management Committee
  • Created outside the human body and which does not involve any application of tissues or cells into humans

If relevant materials are no longer wanted for research you will need to contact your Departmental PD to arrange disposal.