Medical progress depends on the availability of human tissue for teaching, quality control, and research. These tissue samples typically originate from resection specimen obtained during therapeutic and diagnostic interventions and it is hence the pathologist in charge of selecting and conserving tissue samples and eventually making them avaliable for the diverse academic purposes. These activities happen in a vaguely defined framework of medical, ethical, and legal constrictions, with important and partly conflicting interests of patient autonomy and data protection. This article introduces the reader to this complex subject, focusing on questions of informed individual versus general consent, and proposes practical solutions for dealing with these conflicting interest in the daily routine work