Research Ethics

In preparation for this project, the entire team engaged in a series of discussions about the ethical issues for the three projects – human fetal liver and metabolic syndrome, human fetal prostate and endocrine disruption, human fetal lung, arsenic exposure, and tissue remodeling and about the work of the Community Outreach and Translation Core.

To ensure that our ethical guidelines would be well-integrated throughout the Formative Center, we engaged in a series of discussions with the whole group, as well as individual discussions between the Community Outreach and Translation Core and both the Pediatric Health Specialist and the Director of the Tissue Procurement Core. Colleagues helped shape the ethical issues which will be addressed in research design. For example, Women and Infants Hospital does not require specific consent for any given research project, but merely a blanket consent for use of residual tissues from spontaneous abortions. Project staff discussed this extensively, and came to the conclusion that our project will provide full informed consent and should inform women of the specific research for which we request their fetal tissue, in the interest of a full and ethical approach.

Specific Aims

• Examine and refine the ethical considerations of the overall research project.
• Develop ethics model for the use of fetal tissue and provide ethics education and consultation to the project investigators and formative center.
• Provide ethics education, outreach and consultation for hospital staff and IRB.
• Provide full informed consent on fetal tissue research to patients.
• Publish research articles on ethics of fetal tissue research.