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33 J.L. Med. & Ethics 1 (2005)

handle is hein.journals/medeth33 and id is 1 raw text is: THE JOURNAL OF
LAW, MEDICINE
& ETHICS
VOLUME 33:1 - SPRING 2005
EDITORIAL STAFF
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Kathleen M. Boozang, J.D., LL.M.
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Benjamin W. Moulton, J.D.,
M.P.H.
EDITOR
Edward J. Hutchinson
ASSISTANT EDITOR
Lindsay F. Wiley, J.D.
EDITORIAL ASSISTANT
Rebecca K. Mitcheson

THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF
LAW, MEDICINE & ETHICS
CONFERENCE DIRECTOR
Katie Kenney Johnson
MEMBERSHIP DIRECTOR
Brenton D. Chestnut
DIRECTOR OF INFORMATION
TECHNOLOGY
Michael G. Thomas
DIRECTOR OF GRANT DEVELOPMENT
Alice A. Noble, J.D., M.P.H.
The Journal ofLaw, Medicine E0 Ethics
is owned and published by
The American Society of Law,
Medicine & Ethics, Inc.
The views and opinions expressed
in the Journal are those of the authors
and do not necessarily represent
the views or opinions of the publisher
or the Journal's editorial staff.

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

A sanyone who follows American finance knows, the bank-
ing industry is among the most heavily regulated of its
kind in the nation. This regulation is born out of the
uneasy partnership of necessity and experience, as each successive
wave of scandal and exposure leads to new and more complex laws
that dictate the seemingly simple matter of how a bank holds and
uses money. The fact that it takes a host of lawyers and regulators
to constantly update and interpret these laws only underscores how
fluid and adaptable these regulations must be to remain relevant
in our highly complex financial world.
The difficulties inherent in banking currency pale next to the
challenges of biobanking. Biobanks, as described by author Larry
Palmer, are repositories of tissues, cell lines, blood samples, and
other biological specimens that are crucial to genomics, proteomics,
and other emerging forms of biomedical research:' In short,
biobanks are the storage place of the building-blocks of human life.
Whether they are privately or publicly owned, and regardless of
what mission guides each particular biobank, it is clear that the
material they hold and preserve is far more important than simple
currency. And yet, as guest editors Mark A. Rothstein and Bartha
Maria Knoppers and their team of exemplary contributors suggest,
the importance and deep complexity of biobanks are not reflected
in current regulations. The editors and their authors, in this issue's
symposium Regulation of Biobanks, address questions of how
biobanks should be run, how donors should participate, what role
the public and the common good plays in biobanks, and how to
proceed when wrongdoing occurs. The symposium as a whole
argues that if biobanks are to play the crucial role in the 21st cen-
tury that we all expect, there must be a regulatory framework
in place that will encourage innovation and growth while protect-
ing the rights of donors and the general public, with an eye firmly
fixed towards the greater good.
I also encourage you to read Boston University professor Tracey
Maclin's article on DNA searches. Maclin's article is the first in a
series of DNA articles that will be published in the Journal as part
of the larger DNA Fingerprinting and Civil Liberties Project, fund-
ed by the National Institute of Health, under grant no. 1RO1
HGO028 36-01, and sponsored by the American Society of Law,
Medicine & Ethics. During the coming year we will be periodically
publishing more articles on this important topic.
Ted Hutchinson
Editor

REGULATION OF BIOBANKS - SPRING 2005

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