Human brain organoids are three-dimensional masses of tissues derived from human stem cells that partially recapitulate the characteristics of the human brain. They have promising applications in many fields, from basic research to applied medicine. However, ethical concerns have been raised regarding the use of human brain organoids. These concerns primarily relate to the possibility that brain organoids may become conscious in the future. This possibility is associated with uncertainties about whether and in what sense brain organoids could have consciousness and what the moral significance of that would be. These uncertainties raise further concerns regarding consent from stem cell donors who may not be sufficiently informed to provide valid consent to the use of their donated cells in human brain organoid research. Furthermore, the possibility of harm to the brain organoids raises question about the scope of the donor’s autonomy in consenting to research involving these entities. Donor consent does not establish the reasonableness of the risk and harms to the organoids, which ethical oversight must ensure by establishing some measures to mitigate them. To address these concerns, we provide three proposals for the consent procedure for human brain organoid research. First, it is vital to obtain project-specific consent rather than broad consent. Second, donors should be assured that appropriate measures will be taken to protect human brain organoids during research. Lastly, these assurances should be fulfilled through the implementation of precautionary measures. These proposals aim to enhance the ethical framework surrounding human brain organoid research.

人脑类器官是源自人类干细胞的三维组织块，部分概括了人脑的特征。它们在从基础研究到应用医学的许多领域都有着广阔的应用前景。然而，关于人脑类器官的使用引起了伦理方面的担忧。这些担忧主要与大脑类器官未来可能变得有意识的可能性有关。这种可能性与大脑类器官是否以及在何种意义上具有意识以及其道德意义的不确定性有关。这些不确定性进一步引发了人们对干细胞捐赠者同意的担忧，他们可能没有足够的信息，无法就在人脑类器官研究中使用其捐赠的细胞提供有效的同意。此外，对大脑类器官造成伤害的可能性引发了关于捐赠者在同意涉及这些实体的研究方面的自主权范围的问题。捐赠者的同意并不能确定类器官风险和伤害的合理性，道德监督必须通过制定一些措施来减轻风险和伤害来确保这一点。为了解决这些问题，我们为人脑类器官研究的同意程序提供了三项建议。首先，获得特定项目的同意而不是广泛的同意至关重要。其次，应向捐赠者保证，在研究过程中将采取适当措施保护人脑类器官。最后，这些保证应通过实施预防措施来实现。这些提案旨在加强人脑类器官研究的伦理框架。