Human tissue preservation: development of regulations and removal of some legal barriers.

Human tissue must be obtained promptly postmortem if it is to be successfully preserved. Legal assistance toward this goal has been established by the California Legislature. To implement this legislation the State Board of Public Health has established regulations relating to human tissue preservation. These are the first such regulations in the nation. Tissue preservation is not yet fully developed. Much research is in progress to overcome many problems. The future may hold interesting developments. Present laws and regulations will implement them.