![]() In past years, there have been patents created by the United Stated government to fund human gene testing for diseases and cancer such as Alzheimer’s, colon, breast and asthma. HIPAA is not only a law, but it is also a safeguard and security blanket to protect patients from having their medical information released without proper consent from the patient and or parent or guardian.Ī final point about people having control over their tissues is a money factor. This act is used everywhere in the medical profession, including pharmaceutical companies, doctor offices and hospitals. Also, as of 1996, there is now a federal law in place preventing privacy violation, like what happened to the Lack’s family, known as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). ![]() This is a key statement since in fact we should be able to have full control over who has a part of us. A quote from page 318 says, Tissue-rights activists believe it is important for donors to be able to control who has access to their tissues, because they worry that information gathered from tissue samples might be used against them (Skloot, 2011, p 318). Moreover, our privacy is another major factor in ownership of our tissues. Scientists and researchers do not take that fact into consideration. It is even said that one hundred percent anonymity is not guaranteed because in today’s world, genes can be put together and matched to the person being tested. I do not agree with this though since regardless if the identity of the person is known or not, research is still being done on a human body, or part of one. ![]() However, it is not federally funded, or the identity of the person is not identified, so it cannot be considered research on a human specimen. In addition, there is something known as the Common Rule which requires consent for human research. There is a quote from page 317 that states, For most people, knowing if and how their tissues are being used in research is far bigger than profiting from them (Skloot, 2011, p 317). Our lives are in the hands of our loved ones and significant others at that point.Ĭonsequently, another reason we should have control over our tissues, is we should have consent over who they are going to and where they end up. After we are passed way it is a different story. It is our body and we can choose to do what we want with it. I do not agree with this point at all because we are not obligated to do anything we do not want to do. Since everybody benefits, everybody can accept the small risks of having their tissue scraps used in research (Skloot, 2011, p. On page 321, it states, I think people are morally obligated to allow their bits and pieces to be used to advance knowledge to help others. Our samples can be taken from examinations, operations, tests, procedures, clinical trials and bodily donations. They are also kept indefinitely, whether we are alive or dead. The first part of the Afterword piece describes how our tissues are on file somewhere and we may or may not know it. “Various Themes in the Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks”
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