Ethics in Laboratory Medicine: Perspectives and Challenges in Resource Limited Settings

Currently diagnosis and management of patients in Clinical Practice is very much dependent on laboratory diagnostics. Laboratory Medicine, like any other branch of Medicine, is therefore, mandated with ethical usage of materials and data obtained from patients. Several countries, professional societies and the have developed policies and guidance materials on ethical issues related to laboratory medicine. However, ethical standards and practices vary between different cultures, geographies, legal architecture and according to available resources. In this article, we try to understand the challenges presented in terms of Ethics, where there are constraints of resources.