Publication
Title
Children, biobanks and the scope of parental consent
Author
Abstract
The use of stored tissue samples from children for genetic research raises specific ethical questions that are not all analogous to those raised when adult participants are concerned. These include issues with regard to consent, as it is typically a parent who consents to the use of samples from children. In this paper, we discuss the scope of parental consent. This scope has a temporal dimension and one related to the content of consent. It is not questioned that the temporal scope of parental consent is limited and that young adults have the right to decide on the fate of their samples when they reach the age of maturity. With regard to the content of consent, the question remains whether parents are allowed to give full broad consent to any possible future research on the samples of their children. We argue that they should not be allowed to do so, based on two premises. First, it is generally acknowledged that children have a right to express their own values and that they should be given the opportunity to develop their own autonomy as they grow older. Second, research and science are not completely value-free and some types of research may be more sensitive than other types. Children should be given the opportunity to express their values also in this respect.
Language
English
Source (journal)
European journal of human genetics / European Society of Human Genetics. - Leiden
Publication
Leiden : 2011
ISSN
1018-4813
DOI
10.1038/EJHG.2011.29
Volume/pages
19 :7 (2011) , p. 735-739
ISI
000291678400005
Full text (Publisher's DOI)
Full text (open access)
UAntwerpen
Faculty/Department
Publication type
Subject
Law 
External links
Web of Science
Record
Identifier
Creation 12.10.2015
Last edited 23.02.2023
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