Abstract
Biobanking — the organized collection of biological samples and associated data — ranges in scope from small collections of samples in academic or hospital settings to large-scale national repositories. Biobanks raise many ethical concerns, to which authorities are responding by introducing specific regulations. Genomics research, which thrives on the sharing of samples and information, is affected by two prominent ethical questions: do ethical principles prevent or promote the sharing of stored biological resources? How does the advent of large-scale biobanking alter the way in which ethical issues are addressed?
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Acknowledgements
The support of Toulouse-Midi-Pyrénées-Genopole, Réseau National des Genopole (RNG) and DRESS (Direction de la Recherche, des Etudes, de l'Evaluation et des Statistiques — Mission de Recherche du Ministère de l'Emploi, du Travail et de la Cohésion Sociale et du Ministère de la Santé et de la protection sociale) in connection with the 2004 programme 'Biomedical sciences, health, society' is gratefully acknowledged.
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Human Genome Diversity Project
Mannvernd (Association of Icelanders for Ethics in Science and Medicine)
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Cambon-Thomsen, A. The social and ethical issues of post-genomic human biobanks. Nat Rev Genet 5, 866–873 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrg1473
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nrg1473