Legal and ethical framework for global health information and biospecimen exchange - an international perspective

BMC Medical Ethics

Table 3 Required approvals to transfer data/samples abroad

	AUT	CHE	CHN	GBR	HKG	JPN	ITA	SGP	SWE	TUR	TWN	UGA	USA
Ethical approval required
Uncoded data/samples	yes	yes^a,b	yes	yes^a	yes	yes^f	n.a.	n.a.	yes	n.a.	yes	n.a.	yes
Coded data/samples	yes	yes^a,b	yes^f	yes^a	yes	yes^f	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	n.a
Anonymized data/samples	yes^e	no	yes	no	no	yes^f	yes	yes	no	yes	no	yes	no
Approval from national health authority required
Uncoded data/samples	no	no^c	yes^d	yes^a	no	no^f	no	n.a.	yes^e	n.a.	yes	n.a.	no
Coded data/samples	no	no^c	yes^d,f	yes^a	no	no^f	no	no	yes^e	yes	yes	yes	n.a
Anonymized data/samples	no	no^c	yes^d	yes^a	no	no^f	no	no	no	yes	yes	yes	no

n.a “not applicable”, this type of data/samples is not transferrable or is not defined in the law
^aWhen transferred for specific research projects. Not for creating databases or biobanks
^bApproval is only required if the institution transferring the data/samples is involved in the project
^cUnless data/samples are transferred to a country without adequate protection
^dBiological samples and genetic data only
^eBiological samples only
^fDifferent terms from coded/anonymized are used to categorize subject’s privacy protection (see above)

ISSN: 1472-6939