Abstract

Pathology specimen has been collected for purposes of education and research, particularly with respect to basic, developmental and translational studies in many areas of cancer research including molecular biology, immunology, and genetics. Even though no policy or ethical guideline drafted to regulate research tissue bank in Korea, advanced countries has been concerned ethical issues in the collections, storages, specimen transports and informatics for pathology specimen bank. Informed consent and confidentiality for protection of personal data records, which can be directly or indirectly associated with linked data from the donors' point of view, are the key to banking all over the world. The institutional review board (IRB) is important to ensure the scientific and ethical quality of pathologic specimen research. Increasing molecular genetic testing is also resulting in an increased demand of quality control for high quality nucleic acids. Most recently, the use of stored human tissue for education and research has become an object of increased ethical concern in Korea. Korean Association of Pathologists (KAP) has in urgent need of the policies and a standardized operating procedure, regulating a good collection practice of pathology specimen bank.

• Keywords: Pathology specimen bank;Informed consent;Confidentiality;Institutional review board, Ethics;