Introductions:
In the past few years, scientific research has witnessed remarkable progress in several fields at Vision Medical College in Jeddah. As many of the research topics are related to living organisms, there was a need to establish and activate a permanent committee for scientific research ethics at the college. Under the Supreme Court’s decision, it has become obligatory for all entities that research living organisms in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, to adhere to the regulations issued by the National Committee of Bioethics (NCBE). Therefore, the Permanent Committee for Research Ethics was established at the Vision Medical College in Jeddah under the umbrella of His Excellency the Dean of the College to review the ethics of scientific research.
The VMC Research Ethics Committee is registered with NCBE as a local ethics committee (registration # H-02-J-126). The Committee is responsible for the evaluation of research from an ethical standpoint and for protecting the participants in the research. Also, if research is submitted for publication, international organizations and research bodies require ethical approval as a requirement for publishing its results.
Objectives of the Committee:
- Applying ethical standards and controls for biological and medical research.
- Periodic evaluation and oversight of submitted research and application of biological and medical research ethics standards and controls.
- Coordinating with the Scientific Research Committee regarding following up on the issue of commitment to bioethics and medical ethics.
- Spreading awareness of biomedical and medical research ethics for those working in the research field and encouraging related activities, including seminars, panel discussions, and lectures.
Tasks of the committee:
- Ensure that the research is consistent with the ethics system for research on living creatures.
- Monitoring the application of the general principles and controls necessary to deal with living creatures, parts of them, or their genetic material in the fields of research in light of the system of ethics for research on living creatures.
- Protecting the rights of the human being in question and ensuring his safety.
- Ensuring the validity of INFORMED CONSENT procedures.
- Ensure that minors, incompetent persons, or persons with disabilities are not exploited in scientific research in any way.
- Issuing approval to conduct the research from an ethical standpoint.