When the Act is in force does it mean that pathologists will no longer be able to take and retain tissue from post mortems?
No. It means that if they wish to do so, they will need consent from the appropriate person. Appropriate consent means the consent of the deceased person, given by him before he died, or failing that, the consent of his nominated representative. If the deceased has not appointed a nominated representative, then the consent of the people close to him will be appropriate. For example, in the case of a post mortem ordered by a Coroner, once the cause of death has been established for the Coroner, a pathologist or researcher wishing to keep or use any tissue from the deceased for a longer period for other purposes will need consent from the appropriate relative. Consent is not required for a post mortem to establish a cause of death.
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