Research Involving Biological Material from Forensic Autopsies: Legal and Ethical Issues

Abstract

Recommendations and laws do not always contain specific and clear provisions on the use of cadaveric material in research, and even more rarely do they address explicitly the ethical issues related to research on material obtained during forensic autopsy. In this article we analyse existing legal frameworks in Europe by comparing the legal provisions in 2 European Countries which are member states of the Council of Europe, the UK and Switzerland. They were chosen because they have distinct legal frameworks that make comparisons interesting. In addition, the detailed laws of the UK and a specific law project and national ethical recommendations in Switzerland permit us to define more clearly the legal range of options for researchers using cadaveric material obtained during forensic investigations. The Human Tissue Act 2004 in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, its Scottish equivalent with the same title (2006) and the national ethical guidelines in Switzerland all require consent from the deceased person, an appropriate relative or a person with power of attorney for healthcare decisions before cadaveric biological material can be obtained and used for research. However, if the purpose of the autopsy is purely forensic, no such authorisation will be sought to carry out the autopsy and related analyses, which might include genetic testing. In order to be allowed to carry out future research projects, families need to be approached for informed consent, unless the deceased person had left written directives including permission to use his or her tissues for research.

Organ retention and communication of research use following medico-legal autopsy: a pilot survey of university forensic medicine departments in Japan

“…Traditionally, permission from relatives of the deceased has not been required for medico-legal autopsies, primarily so as not to interfere with any criminal investigation 21. However, most research ethics guidelines require that researchers obtain informed consent in advance from the individual or comprehensive consent from close relatives.…”

A proposal for a policy on the ethical care and use of cadavers and their tissues

“…Other countries have already addressed some of these issues (Elger et al, 2009): in Australia (Human Tissue Act, 1982, in Germany (Jü tte et al, 2003), and in New Zealand (Human Tissue Act, 2008). The New Zealand Human Tissue Act is a good example of legislative policies that take into consideration ethical aspects.…”

Ethical implications of using biobanks and population databases for genetic suicide research

“…This use of samples from decedents for additional research, however, also delves into the more complex ethical gray area of the three subsets of autonomy : privacy, consent , and confidentiality. Many European countries and U.S. states permit the use of biobank and coroner’s data for secondary research if the data are irreversibly de-identified (Elger, Hofner, & Mangin, 2009), which only satisfies the issue of confidentiality. In large part, this is to prevent stigma and discrimination against living relatives of the decedent, who conceivably share a significant portion of the same DNA and therein have a privacy interest in how data are collected and used (Moore et al, 2016).…”

“…To address this, the ethical conversation is beginning to emphasize procuring consent from family members for secondary research on biological samples from decedents, as recommended by the National Association of Medical Examiners (NAME), the National Institutes of Health’s Genotype-Tissue Expression (GTEx) program and GDS, and the Swiss Academy of Medical Sciences (Elger et al, 2009; Moore et al, 2016; National Institutes of Health, 2014). Consent at the time of autopsy permits family members to endorse to what extent they wish to relinquish the right to privacy of the decedent’s biological material and will also allow family members to make their preferences known if evidence of a severe genetic risk is discovered, which helps satisfy the ethical quandary of duty to warn (Moore et al, 2016).…”