E-Book

E-Book 3rd Congress

  • Ethical considerations of using immunological data for diagnostic purposes
  • Fatemeh Behdarvand,1 Hossein Rezvan,2,*
    1. Department of Pathobiology, Faculty of veterinary Sceince, Bu-Ali Sina University, Hamedan, Iran
    2. Department of Pathobiology, Faculty of veterinary Sceince, Bu-Ali Sina University, Hamedan, Iran


  • Introduction: Immunological tests, which utilize the body's immune system to detect pathogens, are crucial for various medical conditions, including allergies, cancer screening, and monitoring disease progression. In primary immune deficiency disorders, molecular diagnostic testing helps identify genetic defects, aiding in patient management and prognosis. The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) has established laboratories to apply immunology knowledge to clinical diagnosis and treatment. Immunological data can revolutionize diagnostics, enabling more accurate, personalized, and predictive tests for various diseases. However, ethical considerations such as privacy, informed consent, data ownership, and non-discrimination must be addressed. Prioritizing these principles ensures responsible and ethical use of immunological data for diagnostic purposes.
  • Methods: The use of immunological data for diagnostic purposes raises concerns about patient privacy and confidentiality. Privacy and confidentiality are the most significant ethical concerns in health-related big data studies, followed by informed consent, fairness, justice, trust, and data ownership. Existing ethical, legal, and other approaches offer some safeguards, but major gaps remain. The increasing interest of for-profit companies in acquiring large healthcare systems poses new challenges to patient privacy, as they may exploit patient data for commercial interests and target vulnerable populations. Personal health information is considered protected health information, governed by ethical principles and laws. It is essential to have informed permission before using immunological data for diagnostics. Before any diagnostic tests are carried out, patients should be thoroughly informed about how their data will be used, and their agreement should be acquired. However, institutional ethical monitoring and participant-informed agreement may be required for the secondary use of samples received from diagnostic laboratories. The ownership of immunological data is a complicated matter that involves many parties, including people, governments, businesses, researchers, and healthcare providers. Concerns regarding patient privacy and the ethics of sharing patient data are raised by the growing interest of for-profit businesses in purchasing healthcare databases. Building data ecosystems and encouraging reproducible science need to combine immunology-related datasets and repositories. An ethical and privacy-aware approach to data access and sharing is crucial for the appropriate use of immunology research. Immunological data can potentially lead to discrimination based on genetic predisposition, health status, or lifestyle choices. This could affect insurance coverage, job screening, and employee health benefits decisions. Research shows discrimination affects immune cell composition and emphasizes the importance of non-discriminatory immune responses.
  • Results: Immunological data can be used to develop accurate, personalized, and predictive tests for various diseases. However, it raises ethical concerns like privacy, informed consent, data ownership, and discrimination. Clear guidelines for data collection, storage, use, and sharing are crucial. Individuals should be informed about their data's use, and data security measures should be strengthened. They should have the right to control their data, and safeguards should be developed to prevent discriminatory misuse.
  • Conclusion: Diagnostics might be revolutionized by the use of immunological data, however, it's crucial to use this information ethically and responsibly. We can make sure that immunological data is used to the advantage of both people and society at large by addressing the ethical issues brought forth above.
  • Keywords: Ethical considerations -diagnostics-