| Summary: | Analysis of law relating to the human body and its parts is accentuated by increasing genomic research utilizing human body tissues. (1) No doubt, the human genome project is the largest and most representative paradigm of such modern biomedical research endeavors. (2) Genomic research studies the function of individual genes in the human body and how they interact with one another and the environment. Advocates of genomics argue that it will help explain the genetic basis of diseases and shed light on therapeutic interventions. (3) To carry out genomic research, however, scientists need to obtain bodily materials, tissue samples and relevant health information from human sources. In some circumstances, samples may be obtained from deceased persons. Though genomics promises enormous health benefits, it raises significant social, ethical, and legal concerns. (4) For instance, genetic information obtained from a tissue sample may relate to intimately private matters such as race, height, susceptibility or predisposition to disease, behavioral traits, and sex. This type of information reaches beyond the sample source to family members and its illegitimate exploitation could have wide-ranging impacts entailing ostracism, discrimination in employment, and insurance. (5) Accordingly, the right to control current and future uses of a genetic material or information obtained from it has become pivotal.
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