The Law on Copyright of Republic Act (RA) 8293 or

the “Intellectual Property Code of the Philippines”

You are NOT authorized to reproduce or communicate this

material.
This course may contain materials that are subject to
copyright protection under RA 8293. Materials include
presentations, videos, and other materials developed by the
faculty.
Copyright owners have the right to take legal action against
copyright infringement.
 This is strictly
FOR EDUCATIONAL and
CLASSROOM USE ONLY.
POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES

COLLEGE OF SCIENCE

Bioethics
Overview
• Bioethics is a field of study that examines the
moral, social, and philosophical aspects of
biomedical and life sciences research, healthcare,
and medical technology. It involves the analysis of
ethical principles, such as autonomy, beneficence,
non-maleficence, and justice, to address complex
dilemmas emerging from medical advancements
(Beauchamp & Childress, 2019).
Objectives
After successful completion of this module, you
should be able to:
1. clearly explain what bioethics is in simple terms;
2. recognize why bioethics is important in everyday
life; and
3. gain a basic understanding of select artificial
organs and the rationale behind their creation in
improving healthcare and enhancing quality of
life.
Ethics
• Ethics refers to the moral principles, values, and rules that
guide human behavior and decision-making. It is concerned
with distinguishing right from wrong and determining what
is morally acceptable.
• Key Elements:
• Values: Personal beliefs and principles that influence ethical
decisions
• Moral Principles: Fundamental rules, like honesty, fairness, and
respect
• Social Norms: Shared expectations within a community or culture
Historical Development
• Ancient Roots
• Bioethics has ancient origins in various cultures and
medical traditions, with ethical considerations dating
back to ancient civilizations such as Egypt, India, and
Greece.
• Hippocrates (460-370 BCE)
• "Father of Medicine“
• Hippocratic Oath: Introduced the Hippocratic Oath,
emphasizing the importance of patient well-being,
confidentiality, and ethical conduct. This oath serves as a
cornerstone of medical ethics.
Historical Development
• Modern Foundations (mid-20th century saw the
formalization of bioethics as a field of study)
• Nuremberg Code (1947) - developed ethical guidelines
in response to the unethical medical experiments during
World War II
• Declaration of Helsinki (1964) - outlined ethical
principles for medical research involving human subjects
• Formation of Bioethics Centers - the Hastings Center
(1969) and the President's Commission (1983) marked
key institutions in the growth of bioethics
Key Principles in Bioethics
• Autonomy - respect for an individual's right to make informed decisions
about their own healthcare
• Beneficence - the duty to do good and act in the best interests of the
patient
• Non-Maleficence - the obligation to do no harm
• Justice - the fair and equitable distribution of healthcare resources
• Veracity - refers to the principle of truthfulness and honesty in
healthcare
• Confidentiality - healthcare providers must keep patients' personal and
medical information confidential and not disclose it without the
patient's consent
Notable Bioethics Violations
Professional Ethics
• Stem Cell Case (2005-2006)
• Dr. Hwang Woo-Suk, a researcher and professor
at Seoul National University, published two
papers in the journal Science that claiming his
team had succeeded in creating human
embryonic stem cells through cloning.
• Allegations followed from a co-worker that
these paper was based on fabricated data.
• As a result:
• The papers were editorially retracted
• Dr. Hwang lost his position at Seoul National
University
• The South Korean government ended its financial and
legal support of his research
Patient Ethics
• James Wilson (1999)
• Gene therapy researcher at the University of
Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.
• Working in gene therapy for OTC deficiency (A
genetic disorder of resulting in a mutated and
ineffective form of the enzyme Ornithine
transcarbamylase)
• Directed a clinical trial involving gene therapy
that led to the death of 18-year-old Jesse
Gelsinger
• He failed to report the extent of the adverse
reactions.
Consequences of Violating Bioethics
• Loss of credibility - trust between patients, colleagues, and
the public can erode, making it difficult to rebuild trust
• Professional sanctions - regulatory bodies and professional
organizations may impose sanctions, including license
revocation or suspension
• Lawsuits and criminal charges
• Loss of funding and accreditation
• Public outcry and reputation damage
Consequences of Violating Bioethics
• Retraction of findings
• Research blacklisting
• Ethical violations can lead to harm, suffering, or even death
of patients, which is a profound consequence.
• Reevaluation of ethics guidelines
Principle of non-contradiction
• The Principle of Non-Contradiction is crucial in navigating ethical
dilemmas in bioethics, ensuring consistency and coherence in moral
reasoning.
• Bioethical principles, such as autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence,
and justice, should not contradict each other within a given ethical
framework.
• Example: "Respecting patient autonomy" and "Ensuring patient well-
being" are compatible, but these principles would contradict if a
medical intervention is performed without proper informed consent.
• In research, the principle ensures that the pursuit of scientific
knowledge does not compromise the well-being and rights of research
subjects.
Points to Ponder
• When a research project poses a substantial risk of causing harm to
human research subjects, it's deemed unacceptable to proceed. This
principle underscores the significance placed on safeguarding human
lives and well-being in the pursuit of scientific knowledge. How do
ethical considerations differ when it comes to humans and nonhuman
animals in research? Are there situations where the analogy holds, and
where it might break down?
• Imagine the explosion of a nuclear reactor, leaving your one-year-old
child exposed to nuclear fallout. Numerous children, including your
own, develop leukemia. Bone marrow can now be generated most
successfully by reprogramming brain cells, which are more resistant to
radiation damage than bone marrow. Unfortunately, a whole brain must
be destroyed. The extracted stem cells could be reprogrammed to treat
ten children. Given the scenario presented, how would you react?
POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES

COLLEGE OF SCIENCE

Artificial Organs
 DILEMMA
There's growing shortage of hearts, livers,
and lungs suitable for transplant
Organ Donation Statistics
• As of November 2023 (US Data)
• More than 104,000 people are on transplant list
• Only 19,216 deceased and living donors give up organs
for transplants

• In the Philippines
• 139 transplant candidates (2022)
• About 40 organ donations for deceased donors
transplanted (2022)
Challenges in Tissue Engineering
• Cells form organs inside the human body
• They need:
• support to grow
• supply of nutrients
• removal of waste
• protection against immune rejection
Blood Type Compatibility
BLOOD TYPE CAN RECEIVE CAN DONATE TO
FROM
Type A A, O A, AB
Type B B, O B, AB
Type AB A, B, AB, O AB
Type O O A, B, AB, O
Blood Type Compatibility
• A, B, AB, and O are the main blood types.
• Rh factor (+ or -) is another important
consideration.
• Rh Factor Compatibility:
• Rh+ individuals can receive Rh+ or Rh- blood.
• Rh- individuals should ideally receive Rh- blood.
• In emergencies, O- blood is often used because it
can be given to individuals with any blood type.
Solution
• Xenotransplantation
• Transportation of organs from one species to another
• For example: a pig organ to a human
Why pigs?
• Pigs can provide the organs that we need.
• They are of the right size, and we have an
infrastructure to grow them in large numbers.
• A pig's organ can buy time for a patient waiting for
a human organ.
But…
• The human immune system does not take kindly to
the presence of a pig organ.
• human leukocyte antigen (HLA)
• Pigs also have another antigen called galactose-
alpha 1,3-galactose (alpha Gal)
• Humans have longer lives
• “bridge organ”
What about spread of diseases?
• Pig genomes also contain the remnants of viruses
that stowed away millions of years ago.
• Genetically modified pigs are housed in pristine
conditions and regularly checked for infections.
Do we have alternatives?
https://ideas.ted.com/a-ghost-heart/
Decellurating Organs
• Decellularization
involves thoroughly
breaking down and
eliminating all cells,
extracting the cellular
elements from
biological tissue, and
retaining solely the
extracellular matrix
(ECM).
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3989688/figure/fig01/
Supplementary Course Material
Watch:

• How We Are Growing Organs In The Lab? | Dr. Jim Wells

| TEDxCincinnati
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygXescPlj-M
Points to ponder
1. What are the current issues that should be
guided by bioethics? Why?
2. What are the current issues that seem to violate
bioethics? How?
3. In what ways do societal factors, such as
disparities in access to emerging medical
technologies, intersect with bioethical
considerations?
References
Bank, A. "Result Filters." National Center for Biotechnology Information. U.S. National Library of Medicine, n.d. Web. 03 Mar.
2013.
Beauchamp, T. L., & Childress, J. F. (2019). Principles of biomedical ethics (8th ed.). Oxford University Press.
Brey, P. (2009). ‘Biomedical Engineering Ethics.’ Eds. Berg-Olsen, J., Pedersen, S., Hendricks, V. (eds.), A Companion to
Philosophy of Technology. Blackwell.
Data - OPTN. Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network. (n.d.). https://optn.transplant.hrsa.gov/data/
Hodgson M.J., Knutson C.C., Momtahan N., Cook A.D. (2017) Extracellular Matrix from Whole Porcine Heart
Decellularization for Cardiac Tissue Engineering. In: Turksen K. (eds) Decellularized Scaffolds and Organogenesis.
Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 1577. Humana Press, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/7651_2017_31
Hunter, P. (2014, March). One organ at a time: Research has been making much progress to create in vitro human tissues for
transplantation but laboratory-grown complex organs still remain decades away. EMBO reports.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3989688/
Mitragotri, S. Principles of Bioengineering [Ebook]. Retrieved from
https://sites.chemengr.ucsb.edu/~ceweb/courses/che125/pdfs/041814%20125_Lec_1_and_2.pdf
"Result Filters." National Center for Biotechnology Information. U.S. National Library of Medicine, n.d. Web. 03 Mar. 2013.
Smith, TJ, and N. Naurato "Scientific Research Ethics." General Resources. Illinois Institute of Technology, n.d. Web. 02 Mar.
2013.
Saplit, G. A. T. (2023, July 5). From one to many: Donate organs and multiply lives. Philippine Information Agency.
https://pia.gov.ph/features/2023/07/05/from-one-to-many-donate-organs-and-multiply-lives
Yong, E. (2012). Replacement Parts. The Scientist Magazine®. Retrieved from https://www.the-
scientist.com/features/replacement-parts-40673