Ethical Guidelines and Considerations in Medical Genetic Researches
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Zahra Nozhat , Mehdi Hedayati , Farzaneh Bozorgghalati , Fereidoun Azizi  |
Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences , azizi@endocrine.ac.ir |
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Abstract: (8328 Views) |
Introduction: Ethical issues are common
to all sciences, and biological and medical sciences are no exception. Since these
sciences deal directly with the physical and mental health of humans, they are
exposed to thorough assessment to maintain the individuals, prestige and
dignity. Development and application of cellular and molecular biology in
medical sciences cause challenges and responsibilities in ethics, not easily
predictable. This is because of three general properties of genetic
information: 1) It has private and familial concepts 2) It often is related to
the disease in the feature, hence it has predictive properties that can provide
information about the next generation, and can also provide data on previous
generations and 3) Genetic tests often diagnose some diseases, for which there
is no efficient treatment or prevention. Hence the predictive and
risk-assessing nature of genetic information has made human genetic material invaluable
to different organizations and unfortunately open to misuse by health care
planners, insurers and employers. Furthermore social discrimination and
psychological injuries also threaten individuals undergoing genetics testing. This
review article discusses the ethical issues raised in the area of genetic
research, such as informed consent, confidentiality, assessment of damage and
utility, ownership of genetic findings and recall of family members. |
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Keywords: Ethical considerations, Genetic researches, Informed consent, Confidentiality, Ownership of genetic researches, Calling family members |
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Full-Text [PDF 311 kb]
(2154 Downloads)
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Type of Study: Review |
Subject:
General Received: 2014/07/9 | Accepted: 2015/01/17 | Published: 2015/03/16
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