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Ethics guidelines for research with the recently dead

Nature Medicine volume 11, pages 1145–1149 (2005)Cite this article

The objective of the multidisciplinary expert Consensus Panel on Research with the Recently Dead (CPRRD) was to craft ethics guidelines for research with the recently dead. The CPRRD recommends that research with the recently dead: (i) receive scientific and ethical review and oversight; (ii) involve the community of potential research subjects; (iii) be coordinated with organ procurement organizations; (iv) not conflict with organ donation or required autopsy; (v) use procedures respectful of the dead; (vi) be restricted to one procedure per day; (vii) preferably be authorized by first-person consent, though both general advance research directives and surrogate consent are acceptable; (viii) protect confidentiality; (ix) not impose costs on subjects' estates or next of kin and not involve payment; (x) clearly explain ultimate disposition of the body.

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Acknowledgements

We thank J. Menikoff, E.P. Richards, R.S. Shapiro and R. Veatch for advising us on the UAGA requirements and OPO practices. We also thank I. Stith-Coleman for her participation as a resource consultant to the panel, and B. Kilburn for preparing notes of the conference. The final guidelines are solely the responsibility of the CPRRD. The CPRRD was supported by grants from the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and Health System, Emory Office of Research, the National Cancer Institute 1R13CA108423 and William A. Parker, Jr. All authors were members of the CPRRD and participated fully in the drafting and editing of the recommendations.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Winship Cancer Institute, Emory University, 1365-C Clifton Road NE, C30008, Atlanta, 30322, Georgia, USA

    Rebecca D Pentz

  2. Kennedy Institute of Ethics, Georgetown University, Healy Hall, Washington, 20896, DC, USA

    Cynthia B Cohen

  3. Center for Bioethics and Health Law, University of Pittsburgh, 3708 Fifth Avenue, Suite 300, Pittsburgh, 15213, Pennsylvania, USA

    Mark Wicclair & Michael A DeVita

  4. Department of Philosophy, West Virginia University, P.O. Box 6312, Morgantown, 26506, West Virginia, USA

    Mark Wicclair

  5. University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, 3708 Fifth Avenue, Suite 300, Pittsburgh, 15213, Pennsylvania, USA

    Michael A DeVita

  6. The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, 1515 Holcombe Boulevard, Houston, 77030, Texas, USA

    Anne Lederman Flamm, John J Kavanagh & Wadih Arap

  7. Department of Bioethics, Case Western Reserve University, 10900 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, 44106, Ohio, USA

    Stuart J Youngner

  8. University of Virginia School of Nursing, McLeod Hall, P.O. Box 800782, Charlottesville, 22908, Virginia, USA

    Ann B Hamric

  9. Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, 1275 York Avenue, New York, 10021, New York, USA

    Mary S McCabe

  10. Center for Bioethics and Humanities, University of Colorado at Denver and Health Sciences Center, 4200 East Ninth Avenue, Campus Box B137, Denver, 80262, Colorado, USA

    Jacqueline J Glover

  11. Children's Oncology Group, 440 East Huntington Drive, P.O. Box 60012, Arcadia, 91066, California, USA

    Winona J Kittiko

  12. Emory University Center for Ethics, 1462 Clifton Road, Suite 302, Atlanta, 30322, Georgia, USA

    Kathy Kinlaw

  13. Emory University School of Medicine, 1365-A Clifton Road NE, A1304, Atlanta, 30322, Georgia, USA

    James Keller

  14. Wurzweiler School of Social Work, Yeshiva University, 2495 Amsterdam Avenue, New York, 10033, New York, USA

    Adrienne Asch

Consortia

The authors are members of the Consensus Panel on Research with the Recently Dead.

  • Rebecca D Pentz
  • , Cynthia B Cohen
  • , Mark Wicclair
  • , Michael A DeVita
  • , Anne Lederman Flamm
  • , Stuart J Youngner
  • , Ann B Hamric
  • , Mary S McCabe
  • , Jacqueline J Glover
  • , Winona J Kittiko
  • , Kathy Kinlaw
  • , James Keller
  • , Adrienne Asch
  • , John J Kavanagh
  •  & Wadih Arap

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The authors are members of the Consensus Panel on Research with the Recently Dead.. Ethics guidelines for research with the recently dead. Nat Med 11, 1145–1149 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1038/nm1105-1145

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