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KMID : 1172020080090020049
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Journal of Korean Bioethics Association
2008 Volume.9 No. 2 p.49 ~ p.55
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Recruiting members of IRBs on embryo research in Korea
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Jun Bang-Ook
Kim Man-Jae
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Abstract
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The Korean Bioethics and Biosafety Act requires embryo research institutions to set up their own institutional review board (IRBs), consisting of more than or equal to 5 persons. The Act also asks for including at least two mandatory members, one who is not engaged in the fields of life science or medical science and the other who does not belong to the institution. Since the IRBs were established in 2005, they did not receive general attention until Hwang’s stem cell research became internationally scandalized. While arguing Hwang’s research misconduct, it was also revealed that the IRBs that reviewed his research did not follow any legal procedure. Although Hwang’s scandal provided an opportunity to improve the IRB operation in Korea, it is not clear whether the IRB fully represents its original raison d’etre or not. Therefore, this study aims to analyze current conditions and tries to find out some plausible problems of the IRB, largely focusing on recruiting members. Some data provided by the Ministry of Health and Welfare show that the IRB members are 6.24 persons on average, and embryo producing medical institutions occupy 70.1 percent in total, whereas embryo research institutions and somatic cell embryo clones research institutions represent 27.0 percent and 2.9 percent respectively. Preliminary results reveal that, among 209 persons recruited from outside, 55.5 percent of them (116 persons) are from medical practitionersand life scientists. Considering academic environment in Korea, it is very likely that these members are selected from peer groups in favor of reviewed research. The analysis also indicates that 71.6 percent of nonprofessional members are employees of the institution, which makes it hard to expect them to review a research proposal without any conflict of interest. In conclusion, although most institutions seem to follow the law at first glance, current conditions of the IRBs in Korea are still far from what the law originally intended to pursue.
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KEYWORD
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institutional review board, embryo-related research institutions, community members, nonprofessional members, Bioethics and Biosafety Act
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