Determining The Rules: Applying Ethics In A Tissue Engineering Course

As a part of a course in Tissue Engineering (TE), a three-lecture series of ethical discussions has been implemented. The three lectures are meant to give the course participants a brief background in ethical theory and practice, to discuss current ethical issues in medicine and medical research, and to implement a set of “ground rules” that the class must observe while designing a tissue engineering solution to a clinical problem as part of their course project. Four ethical bases are discussed including Deontology, Consequentialism, Natural Law, and Theology, but these are covered briefly in class because all the students in the TE have completed a course in ethics as required by Saint Louis University. Next, the course becomes very discussion oriented and covers several current topics in biomedical ethics. The topics are suggested by the participants and have included xenoplants, fetal tissue usage, stem cell research, cloning, corporate profit taking in medicine, animal rights, and healthcare access. Following the open discussion, “ground rules” are established.