Ethical Aspects of Genome Research and Banking

Abstract

Genetic research increasingly used to cover a wide range of research activities. These activities extend  from classical  research into diseases following Mendelian patterns, to the search  for genetic risk factors in common diseases, to the more recent interest in pharmacogenomics and finally, to the actual need for studies of normal genetic variation across entire populations. This all encompassing nature of the term genetic research would not be so problematic were it not for the fact that corresponding distinctions may not in fact be applied in the ethical norms applied to evaluate such research. In order to address this issue, we need to understand the ethical aspects of the different types of genetic research.