[Guidelines on research on human biological materials]

Abstract

Poland has no operational and ethical guidelines on research using human biological material (RHBM) although such recommendations are included in Declaration of Helsinki and Recommendation of the Council of Europe on RHBM. Polish Bioethics Committees have the right to assess projects of physicians and dentists only. RHMB might be carried by other scientists than physicians and dentists. Who and how should evaluate projects of RHBM conducted by non-doctors is not defined yet. RHBM should normally seek informed consent. RHBM might be carried on identifiable or anonymised biological material. Recommendations might differ accordingly to the categories of human biological material: identifiable or anonymised. It is appropriate to develop guidance on sampling and collecting human biological material for research and on conducting RHBM. Genetic research is a special type of RHBM in which broad categories of harms (like: physical, psychological or social) may occur.