Ethics of Research
After receiving training on stem cell research, in preparation for starting research on stem cells, I established a team to research the bioethics of using stem cells in research and therapy in Jordan and the Islamic world. For the first time in the Arab Islamic world a group of scholars from the fields of religion, science and medicine met to discuss these issues. I initiated a committee to study the ethics of stem cell research in Jordan since no regulations were in place which is very important to set the guidelines for researchers and physicians so that patients are not in jeopardy to be exploited as is happening in other parts of the world. Most recently I was appointed as a member of the National Committee for Stem Cell Research guidelines and law by the Ministry of Health in Jordan. Advisor for the World bioethics congress 2023.
Select Publications:
Dajani R, Jiwani B, Nanji A, Zoloth L, Ghaly M, İlkılıç İ, Raya Á, Patrão Neves M, de Melo H, Carvalho AS, Caulfield T, Carter R, Rendas A, Surani A, Rossant J, Kriegstein A, Lalani EN. Diversifying stem cell debates: Including Muslim contexts and perspectives. Stem Cell Reports. 2022 May 10;17(5):1019-1022. doi: 10.1016/j.stemcr.2022.03.008. Epub 2022 Apr 7. PMID: 35395176; PMCID: PMC9133579.
Odeh M, Kharbat FF, Yousef R, Odeh Y, Tbaishat D, Hakooz N, Dajani R, Mansour A. iOntoBioethics: A Framework for the Agile Development of Bioethics Ontologies in Pandemics, Applied to COVID-19. Front Med (Lausanne). 2021 May 21;8:619978. doi: 10.3389/fmed.2021.619978. PMID: 34095160; PMCID: PMC8175792.
Al-Tabba' A, Dajani R, Al-Hussaini M. Stem Cell Statute in Jordan: Leading the Way. Front Genet. 2020 Jul 17;11:657. doi: 10.3389/fgene.2020.00657. PMID: 32765577; PMCID: PMC7379862.
Al-Balas QAE, Dajani R, Al-Delaimy WK. The Ethics of Gene Editing from an Islamic Perspective: A Focus on the Recent Gene Editing of the Chinese Twins. Sci Eng Ethics. 2020;26(3):1851-1860. doi:10.1007/s11948-020-00205-5
Al-Balas QA, Dajani R, Al-Delaimy WK.Traditional Islamic approach can enrich CRISPR twins debate. Nature. 2019 Feb;566(7745):455. doi: 10.1038/d41586-019-00665-1
Matsumoto MM, Dajani R, Matthews KRW. Public-private divide: cultural and social factors in women's attitudes toward cord blood banking in Jordan. Transfusion. 2018 Aug;58(8):1958-1963. doi: 10.1111/trf.14787. Epub 2018 Sep 1. PMID: 30171824.
Dajani R. Jordan's stem-cell law can guide the Middle East. Nature. 2014 Jun 12;510(7504):189. doi: 10.1038/510189a. PMID: 24919888.
