Today’s biomedical research is a collaborative research enterprise, requiring the contributions of patients, universities and industry. Today’s laws, however, allow only universities and industry, which supply basic knowledge and technology, to profit from their contributions; patients, who supply tissue, may not be compensated. Some consider this unfair, as it allows tissue donated by patients to be wholly appropriated by universities and industry. Others consider this wise, as compensating individual tissue donors could block scientific progress and technological development. Is there a way to redress the double standard in biomedical research that is both fair
and wise?
Today’s biomedical research is a collaborative research enterprise, requiring the contributions of patients, universities and industry. Today’s laws, however, allow only universities and industry, which supply basic knowledge and technology, to profit from their contributions; patients, who supply tissue, may not be compensated. Some consider this unfair, as it allows tissue donated by patients to be wholly appropriated by universities and industry. Others consider this wise, as compensating individual tissue donors could block scientific progress and technological development. Is there a way to redress the double standard in biomedical research that is both fair and wise?