Abstract
Large scale human genetic databases are believed to hold great promise for human wellbeing. The problem is that existing research ethics guidelines, especially those regarding the requirements of informed consent and confidentiality would make research with such databases impossible. This has led some commentators to argue that we should relax the rules of ethics to facilitate research. In this paper it is questioned whether relaxing the rules would be justified and shown how such changes, if adopted, might suggest similar changes in other fields of research. As a solution, to enable human genetic database research without unnecessarily sacrificing ethical codes, the concept of 'blind consent' is put forward and arguments for upholding the anonymity of the samples wherever possible are provided. © 2007 A B Academic Publishers.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 105-137 |
| Number of pages | 32 |
| Journal | Medical Law International |
| Volume | 8 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| Publication status | Published - 2007 |