Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill [HL]
5:15 pm
Lord Turnberg (Labour)
My Lords, I rise to intervene very briefly and only because of my position as scientific adviser to the Association of Medical Research Charities, which wrote the letter to which my friend the noble Lord, Lord Patel, referred. I support his amendment very much indeed. I have one further point: if the suggestion of the noble Baroness, Lady Jay, is accepted, we should think very carefully about what the Human Tissue Act 2004 had to say about the position of consent for the use of tissues that were anonymised or from donors who were no longer traceable. We set up the Patient Information Advisory Group, whose sole purpose was to examine cases where consent had not been given. Could that be incorporated into the thinking if we return to this matter at Third Reading? If it cannot, or if that is not suggested by the Minister, I strongly support the amendment moved by the noble Lord, Lord Patel.