This researcher finds that the donor's specimen displays biomarkers which indicate that the person is at risk for developing a genetic disease.
If an individual's personal physician had this genetic information, the standard of care might be to take action.
Another outcome of this situation is that the researcher may not be a medical doctor, and in any case, it is not usual for a person to receive a diagnosis outside of a doctor-patient relationship.
[3] Proponents of offering individual results most often cite "respect for persons" as the ethical basis for this practice.
[4] Aside from medical health, having access to information may have social meaning to participants such as solidifying a cultural identity, membership in an ethnic group, or identifying a non-paternity event.
Research is not treatment and guidelines including the Belmont Report distinguish between "clinical practice" which has the goal of improving an individual's health and "research" which has the goal of developing general knowledge.
[6] In September 2011 the National Human Genome Research Institute awarded grants totaling US$5.7 million to study ethics relating to the return of results.