15 Morningside Road, Edinburgh EH10 4DP, Tel: 0131 447 6394 or 0774 298 4459
Strasbourg - 1-2 December 2003
Organisers: Council of Europe, Bioethics Division
SCHB participant: Dr Angela M Campbell
Bioethics education
Session chaired by Professor Daniel Serrão (Portugal)
Bioethics education for professionals - Professor Giovanni Berlinguer, Italy
Innovative approaches to bioethics education - Professor Sir Kenneth Calman, Nuffield Council on Bioethics, United Kingdom
Session chaired by Professor Goran Hermeren (Sweden)
Bioethics education in the Nordic countries - Mrs Helena von Troil, Secretary, Nordic Committee on Bioethics
Bioethics education for health care professionals in Finland - Dr Ritva Halila, Secretary General, National Advisory Board on Health Care Ethics
Bioethics debate in secondary schools: a Council of Europe initiative - Mrs Laurence Lwoff , Bioethics Department, Council of Europe
An Ethical Forum for Young People - Dr Ole Hartling, Chairman of the Danish Ethical Council
Training in ethics of research for lay people - Dr Dirk Lanzerath, Institute of Science & Ethics Project, Germany
Session chaired by Professor Elmar Doppelfeld (Germany)
Opinion No. 18 on embryo research in vitro - Professor Yvon Englert, Comité Consultatif de Bioéthique, Belgium
Opinion on genetic diagnosis before and during pregnancy - Professor Dr. Drf h.c. Spiros Simitis (Chairman) and Dr Rudolf Teuwsen, German National Ethics Council
The Estonian Genome Project - Mrs Krista Kruuv, Executive Director, Estonian Genome Project Foundation
Opinion No. 77 on ethical problems posed by collections of biological materials and associated data - Mrs Nicole Questiaux, Vice-President, CCNE, France
Clinical ethics committees
Session chaired by Professor Josef Glasa (Slovakia)
Introduction - Professor Josef Glasa
Georgian legislation on clinical ethics committees - Dr Givi Javashvili, Vice-Chairman of National Council on Bioethics
Clinical ethics committees - Professor Didier Sicard, President, CCNE, France
Session chaired by Professor Yuriy Kundiyev (Ukraine)
Research on stored tissue
Why is research on human tissue important? - Professor Peter Furness (United Kingdom)
Regulating research on human tissue: points to consider
(1) Ethical issues - Professor Georg Hoyer (Norway)
(2) Legal issues - Professor Judit Sandor (Hungary)
(3) Commercial issues - Professor Klaus Lindpaintner (Roche Genetics, Switzerland)
Session chaired by Professor Daniel Serrão (Portugal)
Elections of new COMETH Bureau members
The role of international guidelines - Professor Elmar Doppelfeld, Chairman of Council of Europe Working Party on Biological Materials
General discussion on human tissue
Final session
Mrs Dubravka Simonovic, Chairman of Council of Europe Steering Committee on Bioethics
Closing of the 7th Conference - Mr Guy de Vel, Director General of Legal Affairs, Council of Europe & Professor Daniel Serrão, Chairman of Conference
The main themes of the above conference were new ethical challenges - bioethics education and biobanks. There was also some discussion on clinical ethics committees and presentations of recent opinions from some national ethics committees. There were 89 participants from 40 countries. The Council of Europe had 26 member states in 1992 and this has increased to 45 member states in 2003. I was the only representative from the UK (other than two guest speakers from the UK, one of whom was Scottish!). The conference was chaired by Prof. E. Doppelfeld and opened by Mr. W. Schwimmer (Secretary General of the Council of Europe). The conference was closed by Mr. G. de Vel (Director General of Legal Affairs of the Council of Europe) and Mrs F. Keller (Mayor of Strasbourg). Consensus views were reached as follows :
Bioethics Education
This session included presentations on bioethics education for health care and other professionals, the general adult population, and youth e.g. in secondary schools. Innovative methods were described e.g. drama workshops, debates, citizenship courses etc. Bioethical issues are of increasing importance to society, health care professionals and politicians. Public debate on these issues should involve all sectors of society and be on an informed basis. Bioethics education is, therefore, increasingly important, and initiatives in this area are to be welcomed. National ethics committees have an important role in promoting such developments. The Council of Europe could facilitate sharing of information and educational material. Both technical and broad based information is needed to enable people to develop their own views about the ethical implications of specific new developments. Members of research ethics committees have a central role in protecting the rights and dignity of research subjects and should be adequately trained for this purpose.
Clinical Ethics
Health care professionals constantly face decisions with an ethical dimension in their work. Training in medical ethics and human rights should be obligatory for all who work in these professions. Clinical ethics committees should be encouraged to provide support and advice for healthcare professionals. This will require adequate resources and trained personnel.
Biobanks
The development of large biobanks in several countries has the potential to lead to significant medical advances in the future, but should be done on an ethical and legal basis. In particular, individuals whose biological materials are included in a biobank should be informed of the implications of their involvement. Research on biological material that has been obtained for purposes other than research e.g. human tissue from diagnostic biopsies or surgical resections, has led to important medical advances and should be supported. However all such research should be adequately regulated, with due consideration given to the ethical, legal and commercial implications. The Council of Europe will work towards the development of an international legal instrument to regulate such research.