Informed consent as a guarantee of patient rights: legal nature, ethical principles and features of implementation in the field of transplantation and under extraordinary legal regimes
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: The article examines the legal nature of the institution of informed consent as one of the key ethical and legal guarantees for the implementation of patient rights in the field of health care. Scientific approaches to determining the content of informed consent, its role in ensuring the principle of individual autonomy and protection from unlawful interference in the sphere of private life are analyzed. Special attention is paid to the features of obtaining and implementing informed consent in the field of transplantation of human organs, tissues and cells, as well as in the use of assisted reproductive technologies. The focus is on the dual legal nature of informed consent: as a process of interaction between a doctor and a patient and a legal document, as well as a unilateral transaction regarding the use of donor biological material. The position is argued according to which the importance of informed consent increases significantly under extraordinary legal regimes (state of emergency, martial law, humanitarian crises, armed conflicts), when patients, donors and other participants in medical legal relations are in a state of increased vulnerability, and the decision-making process in the field of health care is complicated by time, psycho-emotional and organizational factors. The risks of violating the voluntariness and awareness of the person’s will, as well as the threats of illegal use of biological material and medical information, are emphasized. The conclusion is made about the need to apply a comprehensive, multifactorial approach to obtaining informed consent in order to ensure a balance between the efficiency of medical care and the appropriate level of protection of human rights in the field of health care.
Authors: V. V. Zaborovskyу, V. V. Manzyuk
Institution: Uzhhorod National University
Language: English
Subfield: Law
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W7159652973