• : Scientific progresses and accomplishments in all areas including medicine, can be accepted and applied only when they are in step with ethical considerations and in respect with individual’s autonomy, justice, specific rules and beliefs of societies.

In 1995 and again in 1998, a guideline was provided by the WHO Ethics Committee on principles of ethical issues in medical genetics. Four basic principles of Autonomy, Beneficence, Non – malefficence, Justice were proposed and emphasized.

In the latest international symposium of UNESCO on Ethics in Science and Technology (sep. 2002), suggestions were made in different areas such as Bioethics (cloning, organ cloning and donation, laboratory experimentations on human applications of genetic engineering …), Info-ethics (real and legal communication association, worldwide networks…) Eco-ethics (environmental protection, saving various energy sources and sweet water, clean air, prevention of increase of earth atmospheric temperature …) Cosmo and Biosphere Ethics (optimum and justified use of outer atmosphere by all nations …) and finally Ethics in Science and Technology from the philosophical perspective.

Conclusion: WHO Guidelines for ethical issues in medical genetics (such as genetic counseling, prenatal diagnosis, DNA bank, …) have been prepared with 12 tables (check list) with elaborate recommendations for applying the ethical principles in providing medical genetic services, with be extensively discussed in this article.