ABSTRACT
Interactions and collaboration between the lawyers and the bioethicists were useful, exciting and at times heated. Among the army of bioethicists, Alastair V. Campbell stands out as a scholar of huge intellect and a man of great compassion. Tests on organs and tissue may benefit the immediate family, for example by revealing a propensity to suffer from genetic disease. Addressing some small part of the human tissue story from the UK seemed a suitable tribute to our friend and colleague. As the twentieth century approached its end, evidence emerged into the public domain that throughout the UK pathologists had routinely retained human tissue and organs without consent from the deceased or their families. The census established that practices whereby pathologists simply took and retained human organs and tissue after post-mortem examination were routine and often failed to comply with the Human Tissue Act 1961.
