Individual and institutional conflict of interest: policy review by research universities in the United States

This paper is a discussion of efforts to manage real and potential conflicts of interest in university research in the United States. The focus is on the report by an Association of American Universities (AAU) task force that addresses both individual and institutional conflict of interest issues. An earlier version of this paper was presented at an International Conference on “Conflict of Interest and its Significance in Science and Medicine” held in Warsaw, Poland on 5–6 April, 2002.     

“八胞胎”事件引发的伦理思考

震惊全国的广州“八胞胎”事件逐渐淡出公众的视野,但它带给我们的思考并未结束.从伦理视角对该事件中暴露出的亲子关系的界定、“子宫”商品化、公平公正、多胎妊娠、代际伦理等问题进行了深入思考,并针对ART技术自身特点,从强化医疗机构和ART技术从业人员的职业道德和法律意识;加强卫生行政部门的监管;加强顶层设计,完善ART技术的法律法规;提高不孕症患者对辅助生殖知识的认知,加强生殖伦理教育等方面提出了探讨性建议.     

Ethical Conflicts in Commercialization of University Research in the Post–Bayh–Dole Era

Protection of intellectual property as well as its exploitation for monetary benefit have existed for centuries. However, commercialization of intellectual property had not entered the precincts of academic universities in a significant way until the introduction of the Bayh–Dole Act in the 1980s in the United States. The post–Bayh–Dole era has seen a quantitative increase in patenting activity in universities. This article summarizes the ethical conflicts ushered in by increasing commercialization of academic university research. Activities related to the protection and commercial exploitation of intellectual property have led to changes in academic culture that have given room for debate between the puritans and the modernists. Issues contended by the two groups have been identified, and both sides of the argument are discussed. The key to achieving “responsible commercialization of research” is to balance the Bayh–Dole ethos with the traditional Mertonian norms of academic research.     

人体器官商业化之争:误区和对策

当前,关于人体器官可否商业化之争中存在两个误区：器官商业化的概念误区和反对非法器官交易的措施误区。要想在禁止器官商业化的前提下切实有效地增加器官来源,应在法学上和伦理学上明确人体器官的性质;明确界定器官商业化的概念和范围;制定相关法律和配套措施,倡导自愿无偿捐献,允许有偿捐献,严厉打击器官移植犯罪。     

The Commercialization of Clinical Genetics: An Analysis of Interrelations Between Academic Centers and For-Profit Clinical Genetics Diagnostics Companies

The field of clinical genetics has undergone substantial commercialization, including the development of genetics diagnostics companies. Numerous for-profit corporations now offer genetic diagnostic services; until recently, these clinical services were provided almost exclusively through academic, not-for-profit medical centers. Some of these for-profit corporations have business and/or research relationships with academia. An evaluation of the interconnections between academia and the clinical genetics industry is an important first step in analyzing the risks and benefits of commercialization. We analyzed the personnel and business affiliations of 19 major U.S. for-profit clinical genetics diagnostics companies with universities, academic medical centers, and the scientific and medical genetics communities in a 2-year period, 1991–1992. We noted extensive connections between the for-profit sector and academia. At least 17% of high-ranking personnel and 85% of consultants for the companies had one or more academic ties. At least 68% of the companies had one or more business agreements with at least one university or academic medical center. These results raise many issues regarding the delivery of genetic medicine and the structure and function of academic medical genetics centers.     

器官移植道德反思——兼评器官商品化

自从器官移植技术出现以来,器官移植供体的缺乏就成为了制约其发展的瓶颈问题,而脑死亡临床诊断标准的出台为解决这个问题指明了方向。如何为脑死亡立法和器官移植立法寻求合理的道德支持是立足点,也是现代生命伦理学的热点与难点之一。以器官移植的供体来源短缺为切入点,提出了解决有关立法和寻求新的道德资源支持的一些思路与方向,坚决反对通过器官商品化来解决移植供体短缺的问题。     

“多”反而少：元认知推断视角下支付渠道数量对个体捐赠的影响

支付渠道通常是捐赠信息中的必要元素。研究基于元认知推断理论, 探讨了支付渠道数量因素(多个vs.单一)对个体捐赠的作用机制。通过6个实验和1个单文章元分析, 结果发现：相比单一支付渠道, 多个支付渠道反而会抑制个体捐赠的金额和意愿, 感知商业化和道德怀疑连续中介以上效应。关键原因在于, 多支付渠道在商业化背景下的频繁应用会使得人们持有“多支付渠道=商业化”的朴素信念。基于此, 个体会对多个(vs.单一)支付渠道的捐赠信息产生感知商业化的元认知推断, 进而怀疑捐赠对象的道德性, 最后弱化捐赠意愿与行为。此外, 朴素信念的可诊断性具有调节作用。具体而言, 当“多支付渠道=商业化”朴素信念的可诊断性低时, 个体将无法产生感知商业化的元认知推断过程, 从而弱化多个(vs.单一)支付渠道对个体捐赠的负面作用。     

Assessing empirical research in bioethics

Empirical research can aid ethical reflection in bioethics by identifying issues, by seeing how they are currently resolved, and by assessing the consequences of these current resolutions. This potential can be misused when the ethical issues in question are fundamentally non-consequentialist or when they are consequentialist but the empirical research fails to address the important consequences. An example of the former problem is some recent studies about bad consequences resulting from commercialized living kidney donor programs. These consequences could be avoided, but the crucial non-consequentialist ethical issues about exploitation and commercialization would still remain. Examples of the latter problem are provided by recent studies of the allocation of ICU beds and of physician deception, where important consequences were not adequately studied.     

Solidarity in a Technocratic Age

Do free markets teach us how to construct humane social relations or do they impede us from doing so? We discuss social scientific evidence on the nature of commercialization and its consequences for moral formation. From a virtue ethics perspective, people face a need to learn and practice the good. When interactions transition into the market sphere, we argue commercialization can fundamentally alter the nature of relationships, particularly for those relations formerly based on gift, sacrifice, and obligation. While modern social scientists accurately identify problems resulting from commercialization, we argue for the importance of theological social ethics, which can offer a penetrating analysis of the habits of gift and communal responsibility. Catholic social teaching in particular outlines the set of principles and institutions which foster sacrificial gift‐giving among individuals and organizations within society, providing a bulwark against the threat commercialization poses to many social relations.