Donor conception
This report considers the interests of people affected by donor conception - donor-conceived people, parents, donors, and all their wider family and social networks – and makes recommendations about what can be done to support, encourage and empower those making decisions about the sharing of information.
read more »Bioinformation
Fingerprinting and DNA profiling are valuable tools in the fight against crime, but there is a debate about whether police powers to keep people's details on record are justified.
This report uses the principle of proportionality as a basis for recommendations in a number of areas including the use of the National DNA Database.
read more »Biodata - Workshop on genomics, health records, database linkage and privacy
On 22 February 2012 the Council held an exploratory workshop which bought together Council Members, staff and invited experts to discuss the ethical issues raised by genomics, health records, database linkage and privacy.
This topic was identified at the 2011 Forward Look meeting and the workshop was held to help members decide whether the issue merits further examination by the Council. The workshop opened with presentations on the following subjects:
read more »Pharmacogenetics - Use of information in clinical trials
Download a PDF of Chapter 3 - Research and development of new medicines (1.38MB)
It is important to ensure that patients are protected if information about them is used in clinical trials.
read more »Bioinformation - Key findings
Since this report was published, there have been a number of developments in this area of law. The information below applies to the time at which the report was published. For information about changes since 2007 please see:
Bioinformation - Introduction
In September 2007, the Nuffield Council on Bioethics published a report, The forensic use of bioinformation: ethical issues, which considers the ethical issues raised by the use of DNA and fingerprints in the criminal justice system.
read more »
