Responsible research in the practice of anatomy: Attributes relevant to body donors and human tissues sourced from them

Abstract

Responsible Research involves setting moral examples before fellow academicians and the society as a whole. The concept of Responsible Research applies appropriately to ethical sourcing and handling of human tissues. The present study was undertaken to analyze present situation regarding implementation of attributes of Relevant Research in relation to body donors in anatomical research. A literature search of relevant, peer-reviewed, published articles was undertaken from indexed databases (Medline & PubMed, Scopus, Embase, CINAHL Plus, Web of Science and Google Scholar) for this study. The following attributes of Responsible Research were identified for possible intervention: the fact that research was conducted on human tissues from body donors and details regarding ethical handling thereof may be explicitly mentioned in method section; expression of gratitude towards body donors by authors may be included in acknowledgement section; editor’s and publisher’s note in support of adoption of attributes of Responsible Research may be included in published research. Adherence to best practices in terms of ethical guidelines requires anatomists to embrace a responsible approach in research from an inclusive perspective. Accordingly, practice of acknowledging the body donors may be nurtured and augmented to include the anonymised dead (human tissues from unclaimed bodies and unknown source) provided the research protocol received clearance from authorities concerned with ethical scrutiny. Moreover, adoption of the practice in review articles will enhance the boundaries of Responsible Research in anatomical science. Thus, few recommendations are proposed as epilogue for effectual implementation of the notion floated in present study.