DV Biologics Ethics Policy and Practices
Statement on Ethical Research
DV Biologics LLC considers strong ethical principles to be a necessary and integral part of scientific research, especially when it comes to the use of donated human and animal biological materials for research. DV Biologics only accepts surplus or residual tissues for donation which would otherwise be discarded or destroyed as a byproduct of a separate procedure. All of these biological materials are accepted under the strictest ethical guidelines which include informed consent, respect for patient privacy, autonomy and safety for both donors and DV Biologics scientists.
Informed Consent
Each Informed Donation Consent Form is written individually to take into account the specific type of biological material being donated and to communicate the intended type of research effectively to the potential donor. Each Consent Form is also reviewed and approved by an Institutional Review Board (IRB) prior to any donation acceptance. The IRB acts as an independent ethics committee and approves, monitors, and reviews DV Biologics research objectives which involve the use of human tissue. Both DV Biologics and the IRB work together with an aim to protect the rights and privacy of all donors and make sure that all research incorporating donated tissue is scientific, ethical and regulatory compliant.
Protecting the Privacy of Donors
We understand that the procurement, storage and use of human biological material is an essential part of research, wherein pre-clinical and clinical models allow researchers and clinicians the opportunity to study specific human biological processes for targeted applications. We recognize that integrating human biological material into such research models and tools is a required process for making substantial breakthroughs in the development of new drugs, devices and other therapies, therefore, DV Biologics is absolutely dedicated to protecting the privacy of individuals that act as donors to further these research efforts. We work intimately with a network of hospitals and physicians to protect donor privacy at all times.
Some of the ways we maintain privacy for our donors are:
- DV Biologics maintains a companywide Privacy Policy
- When applicable, DV Biologics does not accept any personal information about donors as stipulated by HIPAA's 18 identifying pieces of information
- DV Biologics will not provide any information about our donors to any collaborating parties, any third party or the press that violates HIPAA
- Confidentiality provisions are included in all business and collaboration documents
- All human biological material and information associated with materials is subject to high level security measures including restricted physical access and restricted data access within the secured DV Biologics facility
The principles of Ethical Research, Informed Consent, Privacy and respect guide all of our actions in procuring and using biological materials in research. If you have any comments or questions, please direct your inquiries to ethics@dvbiologics.com.