Ethical Issues in Research

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Ethical Issues in Research
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note
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Introduction- Recent reports suggest that Dr. He Jiankui of Southern University of
Science and Technology in Shenzhen has altered embryos collected during fertility treatment,
from seven couples, with the result of one pregnancy. The primary purpose of the researcher
is to bestow a characteristic that seldom people naturally acquire, the capability to resisting
future HIV infections (Chen 2018). There is mounting evidence for the fact that a small
percentage of humans display partial or deceptively comprehensive inborn opposition to HIV
virus that is responsible for the onset of AIDS. The primary mechanism can be attributed to a
mutation of the CCR5 encoding gene, which acts in the form of an HIV co-receptor (WHO
2015). This essay will discuss the ethical issues in relation to the declaration by Dr. Jiankui.
Ethics in research- Ethics in research is an umbrella terms that refers to a set of
guidelines that are formulated and must be shown adherence to, while conducting any
research in a responsible manner. In other words, the primary goal of research ethics is to
educate and observe scientists leading research to safeguard a high principled standards.
Time and again it has been proved that research ethics play a crucial role in preventing
fabrication, falsification, and/or misinterpretation of results and research data, thus
minimising chances of bias and errors (Guraya, London and Guraya 2014). There are three
primary purposes in research ethics namely, (i) defend human participants, (ii) ensure
conduction of research in a manner that matches the interests of the society, and (iii)
examining precise research activities for their ethical soundness. Owing to the fact that most
research often comprises of a great amount of collaboration and harmonisation amid many
different individuals, working across diverse disciplines and institutions, the ethical values
help in promoting standards that are vital to collaborative effort, such as, faith, accountability,
shared esteem, and equality (Schrems 2014).
Ethical issues- While conducting research in future five ethical issues that might be
encountered are namely, (i) informed consent, (ii) beneficence and non-maleficence, (iii)

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respect for confidentiality and autonomy, (iv) vulnerable group of individuals, and (v) respect
for privacy. Informed consent is the main ethical matter in conducting research, and refers to
the fact that an individual knowingly, willingly and perceptively, provides agreement for the
investigation, in a strong and obvious way. In other words, informed consent can be cited as a
means by which the right of a patient to independence is secured. This is in relation to the
capability of self-determination and pursues to integrate the rights of independent persons.
The ethical issue of beneficence comprises of the specialised mandate to do operative and
significant exploration so as to better attend and encourage the welfare of the citizens. Under
situations when the research findings fail to prove their benefits, large ethical problems are
encountered (Ethicsguidebook.ac.uk 2018). In contrast, non-maleficence requires greater
sensitivity levels from the investigator about the steps that might lead to harm of the subjects.
The third problem of confidentiality and anonymity is thoroughly associated with the
privileges of beneficence, admiration for the dignity and loyalty. It has been suggested that
anonymity is secured when the subject's individuality cannot be connected with personal
replies. Furthermore, confidentiality would also allow the subjects to give or withhold
information, as per their discretion.
According to Akaranga and Makau (2016) the concept of privacy refers to freedom a
person has to determine the period, extent, and general environments under which reserved
information will be pooled or withdrawn from others. The fifth issue is associated with the
fact that vulnerable people such as, captive population, aged people, mentally ill people,
children and infants, critically ill, unconscious or those with disabilities, should not be
recruited as research subjects. Some of the major ethical issues that are associated with the
research done by Dr. He Jiankui encompass lack of informed consent, lack of approval from
the university, absence of peer-review process, and use of vulnerable group as the research
subjects. In the words of Caplan et al. (2015) due to the likelihood of off-target impacts