The National Association of Research Ethics Committees (Ancei) congress brings together 150 health researchers from all over the country yesterday and today in Gijón. The opening speaker at the event, at the NH Hotel, was Marcelo Palacios, founder of the International Society of Bioethics (SIBI) and promoter of the Council of Europe Convention on Human Rights and Biomedicine, under whose mediation the Convention was signed, with the participation of 21 countries, 26 years ago now in Oviedo. The anniversary was prompted by the publication, by the Jovellanos Forum, of a summary of the Guide itself and the steps leading up to it. “It was a success for Asturias,” said the expert, explaining that since then “science has always progressed faster than law”, and in this sense it is now necessary to strengthen European regulations that clarify the limits of new trends such as genetic surgery and organ removal.
The congress was inaugurated in the presence of the Minister of Health, Pablo Álvarez, and the Director of Health of Gijón, Yolanda López, as well as Essar Alfonso, President of the Congress Committee, and Mayor Ana González. Presentations and discussions include the ethical limits of research using AI and biological samples and the importance of protecting patient data in trials. “With the new computer architecture, there is now a remote possibility that personal data can be traced back, but an investigation in Europe is warranted,” Alfonso said.
