Biobanking

Abstract

In this paper, it is argued that far from simply being a problem within scientific research, biobanking is indeed an issue of societal debate, including various aspects of risk and safety, responsibility and trust. Being a highly complex issue with international and (inter-)cultural impact, biobanking turns out to be a challenging field of tensions from an ethical and even philosophical point of view. Especially those features which at first sight seem to be related to technical safety and thus technical improvement only, turn out to be inevitably bound to historical and theoretical notions of risk, safety and security, which have to be connected to the notion of responsibility. Following this line of argument, this paper will turn to the notion of trust (in biobanking) – a concept which has ever since been closely connected to instances of risk, safety and responsibility: Firstly, because trust implies the idea that a successful outcome is neither predictable nor can it be demanded. Instead it is aimed at basic openness and as such strictly distinct from any legal contract. But this is, secondly, exactly the reason why trust depends on at least any sort of stability, gained from intersubjective and social consensus but not restricted to socially traditional forms of life. Trust is built on recognition; it may evolve when people think and act similarly or loyally support each other’s otherness. Both aspects, however, point to one basic human need, namely the need for security in its broadest sense, implying different features such as stability, accountability, certainty and thus the ability to act confidently. “Trust” therefore has to be understood as something which demands knowledge and consent while still taking experiences of uneasiness and fear seriously and thus respecting the basic need for security. It is highlighted that – in order to gain trust as precondition for success – biobanking indeed has to prove itself trustworthy.