From Primary Tissues to Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells and Organoids: Legal Profiles

Abstract

This article examines the legal status of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) and organoids through a three-dimensional framework encompassing material, informational, and ethical dimensions. These entities challenge the traditional dichotomy between person and property, as biological materials become increasingly transformed and integrated into research and economic circuits while retaining a connection to personal identity. Particular attention is devoted to the evolving role of consent. While its function as a legal basis for data processing is progressively relativized, consent re-emerges in an ethical sense as a dynamic regulatory device, capable of governing the lifecycle of biological materials and data in contexts of scientific uncertainty and reuse.