Clause 7 - Existing holdings
Human Tissue Bill
4:15 pm
Dr Andrew Murrison (Westbury, Conservative)
I, too, was once the owner of a skeleton—I confess that I am no longer in possession of it. It is a serious point, because there is a considerable number of medical students, and potentially this loophole could criminalise them, which would be terrible. Things have moved on somewhat since the hon. Member for Wyre Forest qualified—in this day and age, a medical student usually has a half-skeleton. Traditionally, those skeletons are sold on to oncoming medical students by those who have qualified. That seems to me to be
perfectly legitimate, and I doubt that there is any profit involved. It means that those skeletons are recycled, and I am sure that most of us would say that that is a good thing. The Under-Secretary may wish to reflect on that rather peculiar situation, and perhaps on whether the amendment put forward by the hon. Member for Wyre Forest is a good one to include in the Bill to close this loophole.