The limits of sharing: an ethical analysis of the arguments for and against the sharing of databases and material banks.
In this article, I study the challenges that make database and material bank sharing difficult for many researchers. I assert that if sharing is prima facie ethical (a view that I will defend), then any practices that limit sharing require justification. I argue that: 1) data and material sharing is ethical for many stakeholders; 2) there are, however, certain reasonable limits to sharing; and 3) the rationale and validity of arguments for any limitations to sharing must be made transparent. I conclude by providing general recommendations for how to ethically share databases and material banks.
Bioethics Programs, Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, School of Public Health, Université de Montréal, Montreal, Canada. elise.smith@umontreal.ca
Elise
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Smith
D035843:Biomedical Research / Q000941:ethics; D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D004059:Diffusion of Innovation; D032984:Ethics, Research; D006801:Humans; D033181:Information Dissemination / Q000941:ethics* / Q000379:methods; D007258:Informed Consent; D007391:International Cooperation; D007400:Interprofessional Relations / Q000941:ethics*