The individual wishes to improve his health or his family life , while the doctor is motivated by monetary gain. The geneticist gives advice based on the principles of beneficence, justice and autonomy to enable the patient to take suitable action to cope with genetic disease in the family. However in spite of individual and societal variations in different countries, it is possible to discern a universal code of ethics in medical genetics. As Dr Boulyjenkov will tell you the W.H.O. is engaged in this very task. This provides the justification for gathering information on ethical practices in different countries.
Poverty is the root cause of many unethical practices.
However the poor man who is struggling to make a living does not consider these to be unethical, for example donating a kidney in return for money , because this enables him to survive and improve the lot of his family, while giving life to some one else. The society and the government see these as unethical and the government in India enacted laws to control organ transplantation, and to bring in the concept of brain death to ensure the availability of organs for transplantation. One of the greatest ethical conflicts in both developing and developed countries is the inequality of medical services for the poor and the rich, and the rural and urban populations. Illiteracy is another modifier in the practice of ethical principles. In an educated society one can give non-directive counseling, but this does not work out in illiterate societies.