Is broad biobank consent good enough?
Study-specific consent looks strict but fits biobanks poorly; a modified broad consent that is also ‘deep’ best protects participants on the authors’ criteria-based model.
Source
Broad consent for biobanks is best - provided it is also deep
Study at a glance
- Design
- Other — Criteria-based ethical argument for modified broad (‘deep’) biobank consent
- N
- Normative bioethics analysis; not an empirical sample
- Population
- Biobank consent models (study-specific vs broad vs modified deep broad consent)
- Outcome
- Deepened broad consent as best protecting participants for biobank reuse
Structured fields used in claim comparison tables when every cited study has a complete layer.
What they did
They map why managers adopted broad consent, contrast study-specific consent, then argue for a modified version assessed against explicit criteria rather than slogans.
What they found
Broad consent as usually practised is not enough unless deepened. Specific consent is the intuitive starting point but fails biobank reuse. Protection of participants is the test, not administrative convenience alone.
The limits
What it doesn't show
This is a normative model paper, not a biobank RCT. It does not measure how ‘deep’ any existing form is.
Key terms
- Study-specific consent
- Consent limited to one described study — intuitive but ill-fitting for multi-use collections.
- Broad consent
- Consent covering a range of future uses; widely adopted by biobank managers.
- Deep consent
- The authors’ demand that broad consent also be informationally and governance-deep, not a blank cheque.
- Criteria-based model
- Their novel assessment grid for comparing consent models by how they protect participants.
Flashcards
Research intelligence for this paper
See its role on concept claims, tensions it is part of, placement history, and related discoveries.
Quiz yourself
Best protection is?
Common questions
Best model?
Modified broad consent that is also deep.
Why not only specific consent?
Biobanks are built for multiple uses.
Test of a model?
Whether it protects participants, via their criteria.
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