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Biomedical subjects

Thomas H Murray

Publications and source records attributed to Thomas H Murray.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Newborn screening: complexities in universal genetic testing.

Newborn screening (NBS)--in which each newborn infant is screened for up to 50 specific metabolic disorders for early detection and intervention--is the first program of populationwide genetic testing. As a public health intervention, NBS has greatly improved the lives of thousands of affected children. New technologies and new economic and social forces pose significant ethical and clinical challenges to NBS. Two primary challenges concern (1) accommodating clinical and ethical standards to rapid technological developments in NBS and (2) preparing public health systems to respond to the medical advances and social forces driving expansion of NBS programs. We describe and analyze these challenges through consideration of 3 disorders: phenylketonuria, medium-chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase deficiency, and cystic fibrosis.

Acyl-CoA Dehydrogenase↗
PubMed2005

Ethical (and political) issues in research with human stem cells.

Though it is possible to discuss the ethics of research with human embryonic stem (ES) cells without any reference to politics, doing so would shed little light on the nature or intensity of the public debate, especially in the USA. Ethical arguments and scientific claims have been appropriated and offered with what appears often to be little regard for their soundness or relevance. In this paper I will discuss: (1) briefly, the history of research ethics and policy regarding human embryos in the US and the UK; (2) the decisions made by the current President of the USA regarding ES cell research, including a critical examination of the ethical arguments offered; (3) the evolution of the debate in which nuclear transplantation in stem cell research has been conflated with cloning to attempt to create a human infant; (4) the stalemate within the US Congress over legislation on cloning; (5) possible developments suggesting that the current US policy on ES cell research may become unstable; and (6) the broader context of the ethical debate and what is at stake for the major protagonists.

Bioethics↗
PubMed2004

Ethical issues in tissue banking for research: the prospects and pitfalls of setting international standards.

Bauer, Taub, and Parsi's review of an international sample of standards on informed consent, confidentiality, commercialization, and quality of research in tissue banking reveals that no clear national or international consensus exists for these issues. The authors' response to the lack of uniformity in the meaning, scope, and ethical significance of the policies they examined is to call for the creation of uniform ethical guidelines. This raises questions about whether harmonization should consist of voluntary international standards or international regulations that include an official oversight mechanism and sanctions for noncompliance, and about who should participate in the harmonization process. Moreover, the normative assumptions and political dynamics that shape global policymaking need to be addressed. This commentary explores the policy implications and normative questions raised by the idea of international ethical guidelines for the use of biotechnologies and biotechnological resources such as stored samples of human tissue.

Biomedical Research↗
PubMed2003

An Olympic tail?

Explore the source record for details and available documents.

Animals↗
PubMed1990

The poisoned gift: AIDS and blood.

The moral and communal ends served by a system of gifts of blood have been threatened by the fear of AIDS transmission. Blood banks and those at risk for HIV infection have made changes in their practices to reduce the risk to recipients, and physicians and patients now understand better that blood carries risks and should never be used unless necessary. The deeper importance of gifts of blood, nevertheless, has not significantly changed; millions still need blood each year, and millions are personally willing to meet that need. Embodied in the system of blood gifts is an affirmation of the value of community with the strangers among whom we live.

AIDS Serodiagnosis↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Reflections on the ethics of genetic enhancement.

The technologies made available by new research in genetics and genomics have been and will be used not only to diagnose and treat disease, but also to attempt to enhance human traits and capacities. A broad definition of genetic-enhancement technologies, not merely gene manipulation, but also indirect genetic technologies, such as biosynthetic drugs, is needed to capture the full range of possible applications. It is difficult, but often possible, to anticipate the enhancement temptations of new therapies. Such anticipation may help us in shaping the marketing, availability, or other aspects of those technologies. Appropriate public and professional policies are needed, and work on them should begin immediately. Most important, we must stimulate public education and dialogue to encourage personal ethical reflection on the appropriate uses and limits of genetic-enhancement technologies.

Body Height↗