Procurator Fiscal referrals
In Scotland, there is an organ and tissue donation agreement between the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service and the Scottish Donation and Transplant Group.
This agreement reflects the requirements of the Human Tissue (Scotland) Act 2006 and sets out the procedures to follow when seeking consent from a procurator fiscal (PF) for deceased organ or tissue donation to proceed in cases where a death needs to be reported to the procurator fiscal.
The most important points are:
- Where there is reason to believe that a death may be reported to the PF, no parts of a body will be removed without the PF's prior consent (section 5 of the Human Tissue (Scotland) Act 2006).
- The PF will normally permit removal of organs and/or tissue, subject to the need to ensure that sufficient evidence is available for any subsequent criminal proceedings or Fatal Accident Inquiry.
- The PF may object to removal of organs and/or tissue in a case where there is evidence that the death has happened due to a crime having occurred or where there is insufficient time available to complete the enquiries which would allow an informed decision. In certain circumstances, the PF may be in a position to agree to the donation for transplantation of some and/or all organs and/or tissue in cases where there is evidence that the death has happened due to homicide; early discussion with the PF is essential.