What is informed consent?

What is informed consent?

From Behind the Genes by Genomics England

February 11, 2026 · 8 min · Episode 183

About this episode

Réka Novotta explains the concept of informed consent in the context of genomics.

In this explainer episode, we’ve asked Réka Novotta, Research Ethics Operations Manager at Genomics England, to explain what informed consent is. You can also find a series of short videos explaining some of the common terms you might encounter about genomics on our YouTube channel. If you’ve got any questions, or have any other topics you’d like us to explain, let us know on podcast@genomicsengland.co.uk. You can download the transcript or read it below. Florence: What do we mean by informed consent? My name is Florence Cornish, and today I'm here with Réka, who is Research Ethics Operations Manager here at Genomics England, and she's going to be telling us much more about it. I think it would first be helpful Réka, if you could explain the word consent. Réka: The broad definition of consent is that it's the voluntary agreement given by an individual to participate in a particular activity. We all probably give consent to a lot of different things each day without really realizing it. So, you go on to read the news in the morning, and the website asks for your consent to process cookies. You maybe go to a routine GP appointment later, and you stick your arm out for them to…

People in this episode

Host: Florence Cornish

Guest: Réka Novotta

Topics covered

  • informed consent
  • genomics
  • research ethics
  • voluntary agreement
  • healthcare

Keywords

  • informed consent
  • genomics
  • research ethics
  • voluntary agreement
  • healthcare consent

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Genomics England

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