Ethical, legal and social issues raised by human brain banks.

Abstract

Based on the research methods of literature review and philosophical reflection, this article points out the deficiencies and problems in the current research of brain banks: lack of nature analysis of brain banks and human brains; insufficient discussion of ethical, legal and social issues (ELSI) in the process of brain bank implementation - which has become the main research goal of this article. The article firstly clarifies the formation process of modern brain banks and briefly introduces the current development status of brain banks in the UK, the US and China, as well as the different types of modern brain banks. Next, the nature of brain banks and human brain samples are analyzed through an analogical model. Then, the ELSI issues at different stages are analyzed according to three stages: recruitment of donors, acquisition and storage of human brain tissue samples, and release and use of human brain tissue samples. Last, in the conclusion section, the main ideas of this paper are reiterated and questions for further reflection are presented.