Human Tissue Review Meeting

Human Tissue Review Meeting

The first of a series of public consultation meetings on a major review on the use of human tissue will begin in Wellington next week.

The aim of the review is to put in place a comprehensive regulatory regime that covers both the use of tissue as a therapy such as organ transplantation, and the use of tissue for non-therapeutic purposes such as research or education. This will provide the framework for new legislation which is expected to take place by June 2005.

It is proposed the new legislation will cover:

provisions for the collection of tissue for therapeutic purposes

organ and tissue donation

consent for the collection of tissue for research and education

consent for non-coronial post-mortem examinations

definitions of who is able to give consent for tissue use on behalf of a deceased person

provisions regarding the sale and purchase of tissue

provisions that allow new tissue-based technologies to be controlled while they are assessed for acceptability and safety

consent for the collection of tissue for research and education provisions for the safety of tissue-based therapies.

The meeting in Wellington will be held at Level 2, East Lounge, Westpac Stadium, Waterloo Quay on Tuesday 27 April 2004 from 9.15am to 4.30pm. As the format will see the day split in two with therapeutic issues covered in the morning and non therapeutic issues covered in the afternoon we would encourage those wanting to attend to register as soon as possible by ringing 04 4962244, faxing 04 496 2340, emailing: humantissue@moh.govt.nz or they can register on the day.

Other consulation meetings will be held in Christchurch, Dunedin and Auckland in coming weeks as well as consultation hui in Christchurch and Rotorua.

People can also make submissions on the review through the Ministry of Health's website www.moh.govt.nz or send to:

The Human Tissue Review Sector Policy Directorate Ministry of Health P O Box 5013 WELLINGTON

Submissions close on 4 June 2004.

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