 |
 |
Date sent: Sat, 7 Oct 2000 11:59:18 -0400 Send reply to: Parkinson's Information Exchange Network <[log in to unmask]> From: "Marjorie L. Moorefield" <[log in to unmask]> Subject: Re: Stem Cell To: [log in to unmask] > I'm afraid that I do trust everyone, including the US Government, > until I find that I can't trust them anymore. I can't imagine living > in a country where I couldn't trust the government, that was something > my Grandparents gave to me when they came to the USA in 1702. I > sometimes think its ironic that I was born free, and have never been > in a war torn land, to have so many friends in foreign countries who > are now in grave danger. Life sure has a way of turning things around > doesn't it? > While I have never lived in a "war-torn land" either, my first wife (deceased) did. She escaped the Holocaust by only a few weeks! While I support the American system, I am not totally convinced that some of the people who are part of it are interested in the democratic principles that this nation is founded upon. The Constitution is our protection; but that document does not always "cover" the newest developments of science. Not long ago, I served as an evaluator (and expert witness) in a lawsuit involving a *very* prestigious academic medical institution. The researchers there were working with a new procedure to treat a neurological condition (not PD) and were approved by the FDA to use a certain procedure and drug combination. After a number of bad results (involving patient deaths and serious disabilities), the manufacturer of the material reported to the FDA that there was something wrong with the procedure and asked that the research be stopped until the problem was determined. The FDA, in turn, ordered (in writing) all institutions using the method to stop. Well, at this institution, the researcher decided that he "knew better", and ignored the order. He went ahead and continued to use the procedure, causing the death of one patient and the paralysis of another. When the "Human Experiment Committee" at the institution protested, the protest was "covered up" by the researchers. The family of the patient who died sued. The institution had big-time, expensive lawyers to defend them and the patient's family was at a distinct disadvantage. Despite this (and I will take some credit), a good case was mounted, and the institution finally settled for a moderately large sum. That did not bring back the patient; but hopefully, it exposed the "researchers" and will give them second thoughts next time. It is this kind of "research" that could develop with stem cells; and I am not sure that the current "oversight" process is good enough to prevent such. I don't remember who said this, but, "The price of freedom is eternal vigilance..." Best, Bob ********************************************** Robert A. Fink, M. D., F.A.C.S., P. C. 2500 Milvia Street Suite 222 Berkeley, California 94704-2636 Telephone: 510-849-2555 FAX: 510-849-2557 WWW: http://www.dovecom.com/rafink/ mailto:[log in to unmask] "Ex Tristitia Virtus" *********************************************