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A prominent American publishing company has withdrawn over a dozen genetics studies conducted in China from a medical journal due to concerns about human rights. This is one of the biggest retractions of its kind to date.
Various scientists conducted research analyzing DNA collected from China’s at-risk minority groups such as the Uyghurs and Tibetans.
Following the concerns raised by human rights activists, the mass withdrawals were conducted due to the possibility that individuals in China who were being oppressed may not have been able to give their consent freely for their samples to be used in the studies.
The withdrawn articles were printed in the years 2019 to 2021 in Molecular Genetics & Genomic Medicine (MGGM), a publication by the American conglomerate publishing firm, Wiley.
In March 2021, Yves Moreau, a bioethicist and geneticist from Belgium, initially expressed concerns about these papers to Suzanne Hart, the editor-in-chief of MGGM.
After two years since Dr. Moreau’s initial report, it has been revealed that over 50 papers from various journals are still being investigated.
A Chinese specialist argues that boarding education protects the rights of Tibetan children.
In a recent DNA study that has since been retracted, scientists examined blood samples from 120 Tibetans in Lhasa.
The research was deemed acceptable by the ethics committee at Fudan University, and all participants gave their consent in writing.
On Monday, a notice of retraction was published, stating that an ethical review revealed discrepancies between the consent documents and the findings reported. The documentation was not thorough enough to address the raised concerns.
The notice retracted by the journal stated that the consent documentation provided by researchers did not authorize the sharing of data related to this article with the public.
Therefore, the parties have chosen to withdraw the article, as stated by the journal.
In a separate retracted study, scientists examined blood samples from 340 people of Uyghur descent living in Kashgar, a municipality in the Xinjiang region.
Scientists conducting the study stated that their goal was to use genetic research to establish connections between Uyghurs living in different regions. This could potentially be used for forensic identification and determining paternity.
According to a report by Nature, out of the almost 100 papers identified by Belgium as having ethical issues, 60% have at least one co-author employed by a law enforcement or public security organization.
As numerous studies include the participation of police officers in collecting samples, there are concerns about whether informed consent was obtained.
According to Article 7 of the UNESCO International Declaration on Human Genetic Data (IBC 2003), genetic information must not be used to discriminate against individuals or groups in any manner.
The declaration states that all measures should be taken to prevent the use of human genetic and proteomic data for discriminatory purposes that violate human rights, fundamental freedoms, or individual dignity. This includes avoiding the stigmatization of individuals, families, groups, or communities.
Publishers, such as Wiley, are revising their informed consent protocols to provide additional scrutiny for researchers handling data from potentially vulnerable demographics.
The Independent UK.
