In this thesis, the author studies the ethical and legal aspects of research conducted on stored tissue samples of deceased persons in North America. / The first part of this thesis presents an overview of what constitutes human tissues and how are they used in research. The author describes the process in which human tissues are acquired and stored by health facilities, their utility for scientific research, and currently used techniques. / The second part is dedicated to the analysis of the current normative framework associated with research involving human tissue samples in North America. The author underlines the presence of two different normative regimes depending on whether the human tissues were removed before or after death. Finally, the author examines international documents in order to evaluate whether or not they can provide guidance to North American national legislation. / The third part evaluates the normative limitations associated with the use of stored tissue samples of deceased persons for research. The author considers that these limitations are related to the presence of conflicting interests, the difficulties in establishing rights over human tissues, the difficulties of establishing the rights of the dead, and the limitations of the theory of informed consent with regards to stored tissue samples. / The last part of this thesis suggests that stored human tissues should be interpreted as if they were part of an individual's medical record. After presenting some of the philosophical arguments in favour of such an interpretation, the author underlines the presence of legal precedents supporting the "tissue as information" model. The author finally examines the legal implications and the potential limitations of this proposal.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:QMM.80938 |
| Date | January 2004 |
| Creators | Letendre, Martin |
| Contributors | Glass, Kathleen (advisor) |
| Publisher | McGill University |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Coverage | Master of Laws (Institute of Comparative Law) |
| Rights | All items in eScholarship@McGill are protected by copyright with all rights reserved unless otherwise indicated. |
| Relation | alephsysno: 002085499, proquestno: AAIMQ98803, Theses scanned by UMI/ProQuest. |
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