Building on relationships of trust in biobank research

Abstract

Trust among current and future patients is essential for the success of biobank research. The submission of an informed consent is an act of trust by a patient or a research subject, but a strict application of the rule of informed consent may not be sensitive to the multiplicity of patient interests at stake, and could thus be detrimental to trust. According to a recently proposed law on "genetic integrity" in Sweden, third parties will be prohibited from requesting or seeking genetic information about an individual. Cumbersome restrictions on research may be lifted, thus creating a more favourable climate for medical research.