Privacy and Property in the Biobank Context

摘要

The papers in this special thematic issue of HEC Forum critically andcarefully explore key issues at the intersection of patient privacy and commodification.For example, should hospitals be required to secure a person’s consent to anypossible uses to which his discarded body parts might be put after his treatment orshould it only be concerned with securing his informed consent to his treatment?Should a hospital be required to raise the possibility of the commodification of such(patient-discarded) body parts, or should it only be required to address this issue ifthe patient asks about it? Should persons be paid to engage in medical research, orshould they only be compensated for their time, on the grounds, perhaps, that suchpayment would be coercive or exploitative, for it might move some persons to agreeto participate in research who otherwise would not have done? This number of HECForum illustrates the widespread implications of these issues upon which healthcareethics committees are called to deliberate.