Overview

The last few years have witnessed an important expansion of collection and processing of human biological samples and of the related information data. Biobanks are huge repositories of human biological specimens and have a strategic importance for genetic research, clinical care and future treatments. These biobanks are facing many major ethical, legal and governance challenges: among others informed consent, privacy, ownership, commercialization, and harmonization. In addition, forensic DNA-databases raise specific issues. These databases can be an important tool for the police services in their search for the perpetrator of a crime, but illicit ethical questions with regard to the relationship between liberty and security. This book offers a rich source of material on the ethical, legal and governance aspects of clinical biobanks, population biobanks and forensic biobanks. Policy makers, academics and legislators will find this book to be current and instructive. This book is a publication of the European Commission funded research project GeneBanC (Genetic Bio and Databanking: Confidentiality and Protection of Data. Towards a European Harmonisation and Policy).

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9789050959742

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Reviews

'I recommend this book to legislators and everybody interested or involved in biobank management' W. Reed in Tidsskr Nor Legeforen (2010) 1950. '[...] the papers collected in the book are of the greatest scientific and professional insight and quality. The experienced editors of the volume have also done a superb job, so the reading of the book is informative, thought-provoking and intellectually enjoyable. Moreover, the authors have mostly avoided the usual technical jargon; so the texts are relatively easily understood also by a 'layperson' in the field. [...] a 'must' read to all readers working in the biobanking sphere, especially those responsible for governance issues, networking and planning.' Jozef Glasa in Medicinska Etika & Bioetika 314 (2009) 12.

Author Information

Pascal Borry is assistant professor of bioethics at the Centre for Biomedical Ethics and Law (University of Leuven, Belgium). His research is focused on fundamental and applied research in bioethics. His main research activities are concentrated on the ethical, legal and social implications of genetic and genomics. He published more than 90 publications in international peer reviewed journals. He is involved in various national and international research projects. This includes projects such as GENEBANC (Genetic bio and dataBanking: Confidentiality and protection of data. Towards a European harmonisation and policy), ENGAGE (European network of genomic and genetic epidemiology), EUROGENTEST, Public Health Genomics II, EUCellex (Cell-based regenerative medicine: new challenges for EU legislation and governance), PACITA (Parliaments and civil society in technology assessment), and the Marie Curie project Ethical, legal and Social aspects of direct-to-consumer genetic testing. For his research publications he received in 2006 the triennal prize for biomedical ethics 'Professor Roger Borghgraef'. In 2014 he also received the Innovation Prize of the Dutch Association for Community Genetics and Public Health Genomics. He was a visiting scholar at the Case Western Reserve University, the Universite de Montreal and McGill University, and the VU Medical Center Amsterdam. He is programme coordinator of the Erasmus Mundus Master of Bioethics and teaches in this programme the course Interdisciplinary Research in Bioethics. He teaches also seminars medical ethics to medical students. He is member of the Flemish Commission on neonatal screening (2012-2017), member of the Belgian Consultative Committee on Bioethics (2014-2018) and expert of the Superior Health Council (2014-2020). Within the European Society of Human Genetics he is member of the Professional and Public Policy Committee (2008-2014) and elected member of the board (2012-2017). Within the university he is member of the steering group YouReCa (Young Researchers Careers).

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