Valid consent for genomic epidemiology in developing countries

Genetic research has the potential to improve global health by discovering what makes people susceptible or resistant to certain diseases, and what causes the diseases themselves, thereby guiding prevention efforts.

Genetic studies, for example, are providing clues for scientists working on vaccines against HIV, malaria, and TB. But it is crucial, say Dave Chokshi (Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Genetics, University of Oxford) and colleagues in a policy paper in PLoS Medicine, to ensure that those who choose to participate in such research have given their fully informed consent.

While there has been much discussion setting out ethical principles for conducting medical research in low-income countries, there has been little discussion of how to apply these principles to large-scale genomic studies. The authors lay out a new set of ethical principles for obtaining ethically valid consent for such studies conducted in the developing world.

Citation: Chokshi DA, Thera MA, Parker M, Diakite M, Makani J, et al. (2007) Valid consent for genomic epidemiology in developing countries. PLoS Med 4(4): e95.