Public Perspectives on Sharing Profits with Biospecimen Donors

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Ethics
• Public Health Policy
• Biobanking

Background:

• Current research practices often exclude biospecimen donors from profiting from their samples.
• Debate exists on whether donor contributions warrant profit sharing.
• Public opinion on this ethical issue remains largely unquantified.

Purpose of the Study:

• To gauge public opinion on profit sharing for biospecimen donors.
• To investigate factors influencing views on profit sharing.

Main Methods:

• An online survey of US adults was conducted, with respondents demographically matched to the 2020 US census.
• Participants evaluated six scenarios regarding profit sharing based on research outcomes and stakeholder involvement.
• Survey data was analyzed to identify trends in public support for profit sharing.

Main Results:

• A substantial majority (77.2%) supported profit sharing when researchers profit, and 78.9% when sponsors profit.
• Support for profit sharing was consistent across diverse demographic groups.
• Older adults (65+) showed slightly lower, but still majority, support for profit sharing.

Conclusions:

• The US public largely believes biospecimen donors should share in research profits.
• Findings strongly suggest a need to re-evaluate the current industry standard of not sharing profits with donors.
• This study provides crucial data to inform ethical guidelines and policies in biobanking and translational research.