Research utilizing human tissue and its removal
at post-mortem has given rise to many controversies in the
media and posed many dilemmas in the fields of law and
ethics. The law often lacks clear instructions and unambiguous
guidelines. The absence of a harmonized international
legislation with regard to post-mortem medical
procedures and donation of tissue and organs contributes to
the complexity of the issue. Therefore, within the BrainNet
Europe (BNE) consortium, a consortium of 19 European
brain banks, we drafted an ethical Code of Conduct for
brain banking that covers basic legal rules and bioethical
principles involved in brain banking. Sources include laws,
regulations and guidelines (Declarations, Conventions,
Recommendations, Guidelines and Directives) issued by
international key organizations, such as the Council of
Europe, European Commission, World Medical Association
and World Health Organization. The Code of Conduct
addresses fundamental topics as the rights of the persons
donating their tissue, the obligations of the brain bank with
regard to respect and observance of such rights, informed
consent, confidentiality, protection of personal data, collections
of human biological material and their management,
and transparency and accountability within the
organization of a brain bank. The Code of Conduct for
brain banking is being adopted by the BNE network prior
to being enshrined in official legislation for brain banking
in Europe and beyond.