Ethics Policy

The initial responsibility for adherence to ethical guidelines lies with the responsible investigators submitting their research findings to AASLD meetings or journals.

  • For reports of research using human subjects, provide assurance that (a) informed consent in writing was obtained from each patient and (b) the study protocol conformed to the ethical guidelines of the 1975 Declaration of Helsinki as reflected in a prior approval by the appropriate institutional review committee. Refer to individual patients by number, not by initials.
  • AASLD will only accept papers for review from liver transplant centers that explicitly state that no donor organs were obtained from executed prisoners or other institutionalized persons. Papers without such explicit statements will be returned without review.
  • In studies involving animal experimentation, provide assurance that all animals received humane care according to the criteria outlined in the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals [PDF] prepared by the National Academy of Sciences and published by the National Institutes of Health (NIH publication 86-23 revised 1985).

Questions regarding the ethics policy can be addressed to education@aasld.org