Posted on 07/11/2006 1:23:59 PM PDT by cope85
Artificial Blood Experiment Hits 27 U.S. Cities
Brian Ross and Joseph Rhee Report:
In 27 cities across the United States, seriously injured accident victims could end up in a medical experiment, without their knowledge or consent.
The experiment involves an artificial blood called Polyheme.
The federal government has given the company that makes it approval to use badly bleeding accident victims as test subjects, without the subjects informed consent.
The only way out is to wear a blue bracelet provided by the company.
The company says it's the only way to test such a product.
But others, including Pastor Paul Burleson of a Denver church alliance, say it turns Americans into human guinea pigs.
"If I'm in accident and I just don't happen to have this particular wristband, that I'd be a guinea pig is unconscionable," he said.
Check to see if your city is among those participating in the Polyheme experiment
You are incorrect here. The study requires that the patient be kept on the polyheme for at least 12 hours. This means that they cannot be given human blood even when they get to the hospital. This is the part I cannot abide.
If I were in an emergency situation in which I needed an immediate transfusion of blood, I'd gladly take my chances with this Polyheme stuff rather than just bleed out and die. Since EMT crews can't go around getting authorization from every single person who could possibly need an emergency transfusion, this seems perfectly reasonable to me.
Resistance is futile.
Maybe there's a reason they can't immediately switch? Mixing three different kinds of blood (patient's, polyheme, and donor) might do odd things.
Again, I'm not saying I don't think something's up, I just want to know a bit more before we jump on the "rush to judgement" bandwagon. :)
So, now we risk Artificial AIDS?
There's really no other way to do a valid trial of this. How many people are going to bother to get and constantly wear an opt-in wristband? I don't have any problem at all with this, but I doubt I'd get around to getting the wristband or wearing it all the time. It's not like this hasn't been tested extensively on animals, and there are plenty of known dangers of natural blood transfusions that Polyheme avoids. And people have all sorts of things done to them without their consent when they've sustained severe trauma and are in no position to agree or disagree to anything in particular. Trach tube insertions are routine, for example, and though it's a serious procedure with some serious risks and will leave a conspicuous scar, it's often life-saving and by definition nobody who is a candidate for it is in a position to give consent. And how many people have been fully informed and given consent before being given a natural blood transfusion in an emergency situation? Do you know what the screening standards are for the particular source that blood came from? Was it donated or sold (which makes a difference in the likelihood of honesty during background screening)?
How did he stop the dog from making its own blood?
Drain the poor thing every day or so?
Mrs VS
Why? As you can see, there are plenty of people right here on FR who are eager to delay it further.
They're just useless bread gobblers, anyhow. Think of the good for society as a whole. This is simply the govt acting in the public interest. Like Dr. Mengele.
This is a legitimate study approved by the FDA. With enormous benefits if Polyheme is confirmed as a substitute for human blood. Now, just as the study is about to complete, the media is jumping on it.
Yikes! You'd hope Freepers would THINK before BELIEVING meida (ABC News no less)! Shame!!! Shame!!! Shame!!!
Polyheme has a one-year life-span compared to human blood's 2-month life-span (and recent studies question that second month - they show you're far better off with 1-month-old blood). It also avoids the complications of blood-typing so it removes those complicaitons and errors. In particular, it offers huge advantages to the Armed Forces.
The current trial has had over 700 participants and a respected, independent panel has reviewed it three times (the last time at the 500+ patient mark) and allowed it to continue. If there were any evidence of inferiority to human blood, they would have stopped it long ago.
Another Freeper who Monicas the MSM!
Polyheme will eliminate cases of AIDS-by-transfusion.
"Given a choice between almost certainly dying on the way to the ER and maybe having a bad reaction down the road, I'd take the fake blood."
I'd think informed consent prior to surgery would provide equally valid data. There will be side effects, in one form or another; the question is, will these side effects be deemed acceptable, or not? That's why informed consent is important. The legal ramifications are much greater without it.
I personally would rather take my chances with artificial blood than real blood considering the possible pathogens in real blood. Perhaps in the not too far future there will be no need for blood banks and worrying about blood types.
.
...and this is a valid argument? People have all sorts of things done to them anyways so what's another unauthorized experiment?
The majority of things done to accident victims are done with the an eye toward saving their life, not testing to see if the latest 'miracle drug' is going to work or not.
There are always voluntary medical trials going on with the consent of the subjects. This is an attempt by the manufacturer and researchers to avoid paying the subjects in the typical clinical trial scenario.
Some facts on the Polyheme trial:
1. There are two questions: Is it better than human blood? And is it equal to human blood? The latter is referred to as "non-inferiority". It is important because of the difficulty in maintaining and administering human blood: the limited shelf-life, the need for blood-typing and the transmission of disease.
2. Participants are given the option of switching to human blood in the hospital. If they are still unconscious,their relatives are given that option.
3. There is no other way of testing improvements to the treatment of trauma. Accident victims who have lost blood cannot give informed consent.
4. Northfield Labs is not "Big Pharma". They are a start-up with no other product.
5. There is considerable evidence that Polyheme is effective - chief being that this trial is close to completion after several independent reviews.
6. Maybe with our current over-regulated, over-lawyered society, there is no way to improve. If Freepers swallow MSM stories this readily, I am willing to despair.
Better to have fake blood than to have no blood at all?
Or let's try another slant.
"This is the way they plan on putting in the governments mind control devices."
Every day, more and more, we resemble the old Soviet Union.
Good, then you can wear the wristband. (I know, the object is to not wear it to consent, which is ridiculous and they know it).
The point is, you consented. When did consent become a non-issue to medical trials in Amerussia?
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