Human Tissue

Research Involving Human Tissue:

The Human Tissue Act 2004 (HTA) currently regulates all research involving the procurement, storage, use and disposal of human tissue for research purposes. Since 2006, the HTA has imposed responsibilities on the University in relation to the conduct of research involving the use of human tissue.

The University has been granted a license from the Human Tissue Authority to carry out research on human tissue. The Human Tissue Authority is responsible for licensing and inspecting organizations that store and use human tissue for purposes such as research, patient treatment, post-mortem examination, teaching and public exhibitions.

In order to ensure that it meets the requirements of the HTA and the terms and conditions of the license, the University has developed a corporate Policy on Research Involving Human Tissue (including Standard Operating Procedures) which must be applied by all staff and students who are planning to engage in research that involves the procurement, storage, use, or disposal of human tissue.

The UU Policy on Research Involving Human Tissue must be implemented in conjunction with the requirements of the UU Policy for the Governance of Research Involving Human Subjects and Accompanying Procedures and the UU Code of Practice for Professional Integrity in the Conduct of Research.

Further information and details of the research governance and ethical review procedures in general are available at the following URL: http://research.ulster.ac.uk/office/rofficeeg.html.