Oversight of research involving the dead.
Research involving the dead, especially heart-beating cadavers, may facilitate the testing of potentially revolutionary and life-saving medical treatments. However, to ensure that such research is conducted ethically, it is essential to: (1) identify appropriate standards for this research and (2) assign institutional responsibility and a mechanism for oversight. Protocols for research involving the dead should be reviewed by a special committee and assessed according to nine standards intended to ensure scientific merit, to protect deceased patients and their families, and to promote institutional integrity and responsibility. Federal regulation of research involving the dead will foster appropriate standards and, equally importantly, help establish the acceptability of such research.
West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV, USA.
Mark R
MR
Wicclair
Michael
M
DeVita
D024362:Advance Directive Adherence; D001293:Attitude to Death; D001344:Autopsy / Q000941:ethics; D035843:Biomedical Research / Q000941:ethics; D001926:Brain Death; D002102:Cadaver; D032802:Committee Membership; D003219:Confidentiality; D016265:Conflict of Interest; D003657:Decision Making / Q000941:ethics; D026724:Ethical Review / Q000592:standards*; D032984:Ethics, Research; D005190:Family / Q000523:psychology; D035082:Federal Government; D033161:Government Regulation; D006805:Human Experimentation / Q000941:ethics*; D006801:Humans; D016134:Organizational Policy; D011367:Professional Staff Committees / Q000458:organization & administration; D020458:Third-Party Consent; D020858:Tissue and Organ Harvesting / Q000941:ethics; D014481:United States