The patenting of inventions involving human stem cells raises specific ethical questions related to fundamental ethical principles, namely:
- The prohibition of making profits from the human body and its elements, as stated by Article 3 of the Charter of the Fundamental Rights, which is grounded on the principle of non-commercialisation of the human body. The donation of stem cells of human origin (adult, foetal or embryonic) must not give rise to payment to payment of donors, apart from the justified compensation of constraints.
- The principle of free and informed consent of the donor which is also reflected in article 3 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights and in the Recital 26 of the 1998 EU Patent Directive stating "Whereas if an invention is based on biological material of human origin or if it uses such material, where a patent application is filed, the person from whose body the material is taken must have had an opportunity of expressing free and informed consent thereto, in accordance with national law".
