A perpetual source of DNA or something really different: ethical issues in the creation of cell lines for African genomics research

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dc.contributor.authorde Vries, Jantina
dc.contributor.authorAbayomi, Akin
dc.contributor.authorBrandful, James
dc.contributor.authorLittler, Katherine
dc.contributor.authorMadden, Ebony
dc.contributor.authorMarshall, Patricia
dc.contributor.authorOuwe Missi Oukem-Boyer, Odile
dc.contributor.authorSeeley, Janet
dc.date.accessioned2015-01-21T12:10:08Z
dc.date.available2015-01-21T12:10:08Z
dc.date.issued2014-08-07
dc.date.updated2015-01-15T17:53:42Z
dc.description.abstractBackground: The rise of genomic studies in Africa – not least due to projects funded under H3Africa – is associated with the development of a small number of biorepositories across Africa. For the ultimate success of these biorepositories, the creation of cell lines including those from selected H3Africa samples would be beneficial. In this paper, we map ethical challenges in the creation of cell lines. Discussion: The first challenge we identified relates to the moral status of cells living in culture. There is no doubt that cells in culture are alive, and the question is how this characteristic is relevant to ethical decision-making. The second challenge relates to the fact that cells in culture are a source of cell products and mitochondrial DNA. In combination with other technologies, cells in culture could also be used to grow human tissue. Whilst on the one hand, this feature increases the potential utility of the sample and promotes science, on the other it also enables further scientific work that may not have been specifically consented to or approved. The third challenge relates to ownership over samples, particularly in cases where cell lines are created by a biobank, and in a different country than where samples were collected. Relevant questions here concern the export of samples, approval of secondary use and the acceptability of commercialisation. A fourth challenge relates to perceptions of blood and bodily integrity, which may be particularly relevant for African research participants from certain cultures or backgrounds. Finally, we discuss challenges around informed consent and ethical review. Summary: In this paper, we sought to map the myriad of ethical challenges that need to be considered prior to making cell line creation a reality in the H3Africa project. Considering the relative novelty of this practice in Africa, such challenges will need to be considered, discussed and potentially be resolved before cell line creation in Africa becomes financially feasible and sustainable. We suggest that discussions need to be undertaken between stakeholders internationally, considering the international character of the H3Africa project. We also map out avenues for empirical research.en_ZA
dc.identifier.apacitationde Vries, J., Abayomi, A., Brandful, J., Littler, K., Madden, E., Marshall, P., ... Seeley, J. (2014). A perpetual source of DNA or something really different: ethical issues in the creation of cell lines for African genomics research. <i>BMC Medical Ethics</i>, http://hdl.handle.net/11427/12285en_ZA
dc.identifier.chicagocitationde Vries, Jantina, Akin Abayomi, James Brandful, Katherine Littler, Ebony Madden, Patricia Marshall, Odile Ouwe Missi Oukem-Boyer, and Janet Seeley "A perpetual source of DNA or something really different: ethical issues in the creation of cell lines for African genomics research." <i>BMC Medical Ethics</i> (2014) http://hdl.handle.net/11427/12285en_ZA
dc.identifier.citationBMC Medical Ethics. 2014 Aug 07;15(1):60en_ZA
dc.identifier.issn1472-6939en_ZA
dc.identifier.ris TY - Journal Article AU - de Vries, Jantina AU - Abayomi, Akin AU - Brandful, James AU - Littler, Katherine AU - Madden, Ebony AU - Marshall, Patricia AU - Ouwe Missi Oukem-Boyer, Odile AU - Seeley, Janet AB - Background: The rise of genomic studies in Africa – not least due to projects funded under H3Africa – is associated with the development of a small number of biorepositories across Africa. For the ultimate success of these biorepositories, the creation of cell lines including those from selected H3Africa samples would be beneficial. In this paper, we map ethical challenges in the creation of cell lines. Discussion: The first challenge we identified relates to the moral status of cells living in culture. There is no doubt that cells in culture are alive, and the question is how this characteristic is relevant to ethical decision-making. The second challenge relates to the fact that cells in culture are a source of cell products and mitochondrial DNA. In combination with other technologies, cells in culture could also be used to grow human tissue. Whilst on the one hand, this feature increases the potential utility of the sample and promotes science, on the other it also enables further scientific work that may not have been specifically consented to or approved. The third challenge relates to ownership over samples, particularly in cases where cell lines are created by a biobank, and in a different country than where samples were collected. Relevant questions here concern the export of samples, approval of secondary use and the acceptability of commercialisation. A fourth challenge relates to perceptions of blood and bodily integrity, which may be particularly relevant for African research participants from certain cultures or backgrounds. Finally, we discuss challenges around informed consent and ethical review. Summary: In this paper, we sought to map the myriad of ethical challenges that need to be considered prior to making cell line creation a reality in the H3Africa project. Considering the relative novelty of this practice in Africa, such challenges will need to be considered, discussed and potentially be resolved before cell line creation in Africa becomes financially feasible and sustainable. We suggest that discussions need to be undertaken between stakeholders internationally, considering the international character of the H3Africa project. We also map out avenues for empirical research. DA - 2014-08-07 DB - OpenUCT DO - 10.1186/1472-6939-15-60 DP - University of Cape Town J1 - BMC Medical Ethics LK - https://open.uct.ac.za PB - University of Cape Town PY - 2014 SM - 1472-6939 T1 - A perpetual source of DNA or something really different: ethical issues in the creation of cell lines for African genomics research TI - A perpetual source of DNA or something really different: ethical issues in the creation of cell lines for African genomics research UR - http://hdl.handle.net/11427/12285 ER - en_ZA
dc.identifier.urihttp://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1472-6939-15-60
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11427/12285
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11427/12285
dc.identifier.urihttp://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1472-6939-15-60
dc.identifier.vancouvercitationde Vries J, Abayomi A, Brandful J, Littler K, Madden E, Marshall P, et al. A perpetual source of DNA or something really different: ethical issues in the creation of cell lines for African genomics research. BMC Medical Ethics. 2014; http://hdl.handle.net/11427/12285.en_ZA
dc.language.rfc3066en
dc.publisherBioMed Centralen_ZA
dc.publisher.departmentDepartment of Medicineen_ZA
dc.publisher.facultyFaculty of Health Sciencesen_ZA
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Cape Town
dc.rightsCreative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)*
dc.rights.holderde Vries et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/en_ZA
dc.sourceBMC Medical Ethicsen_ZA
dc.source.urihttp://www.biomedcentral.com/1472-6939
dc.subject.otherCell linesen_ZA
dc.subject.otherH3Africaen_ZA
dc.titleA perpetual source of DNA or something really different: ethical issues in the creation of cell lines for African genomics researchen_ZA
dc.typeJournal Articleen_ZA
uct.type.filetype
uct.type.filetypeText
uct.type.filetypeImage
uct.type.publicationResearchen_ZA
uct.type.resourceArticleen_ZA
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