This article is concerned with the ultimate objectives of genetic biobanks set up to promote the public interest -being the sharing of samples and data for medical research -and the consequences for personal privacy of realising them. Our aim is to chart the values, interests and principles in play, to consider the challenges of realising biobanking objectives on a global scale, and to propose viable ways forward that ensure as far as possible that access provisions remain fit for purpose throughout the entire life of a biobank while adequately protecting the privacy interests at stake. It is argued that key features in any robust access model must include mechanisms (a) to maintain participant trust in management of the resource and to measure and respond to participants' expectations, (b) to facilitate and promote the sharing of benefits, and (c) to respond timeously and effectively to challenges as and when they arise.
ACCESSING BIOBANKS: THE VALUES AND INTERESTS AT STAKEThis paper is concerned with biobanks which are expressly set up to promote the public
Health Care professionals working in disaster situations have to face urgent choices which diverge from their normal deontological ethos and are more utilitarian. Such is the triage system used to choose whom to treat. Instead of entering a crisis these professionals should be thought that ethics is not harmonizable to all situations and that there are situations in which saving as many lives as possible mean sacrificing others. This calls for defining a perimeter zone in which such choices occur, and a time frame (a space-time niche) in which it ought to be considered ethical and legitimate to use such value laden choices.
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