Children are important participants in genetics research, and in genetics research involving children, IRBs must address the primary issues of privacy, confidentiality, informed consent, and the return of results.
Since Henry Beecher’s 1966 revelation of the scandal at the Willowbrook School, the ethics of biomedical research involving pediatric subjects has never been the same. Throughout history, the conversation about non-therapeutic pediatric research has moved from access to protection only to return to access once more.