The interests of human research subjects has long time been neglected and some notorious examples when investigators fail to respect the rights of subjects happened. The international community has declared the importance on the research ethical issues and stated that human subject research should be carried out in an ethical manner. The Nuremberg Code, the Declaration of Helsinki and the Belmont Report represent the evolving recognition of ethical principles in human research projects. An institutional review board (IRB) is an independent ethics committee or ethical review board that has been formally designated to approve, monitor, and review biomedical and behavioral research involving humans with the aim to protect the rights and welfare of the research subjects. The National Science Council in Taiwan recognized the role of IRB and sponsored the project of ”Human Behavior Research Ethics and Human Subject Research Ethics Governance” for establishing central regional program or research ethics center in order to enhance the research ethics and to maintain the rights and dignities of human subjects. This paper briefly assesses several projects associated with the ethical issues of human subjects. By the experience of visiting the IRBs in Seattle, including Human Subject Division of University of Washington, IRB of Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center (FHCRC) and Western Intuitional Review Board (WIRB), we found the staffing structure, examining procedures and adequately regulations are essential components for a well established IRB regime in Taiwan.
