The Tragedy of a Failed Experiment

You have got to feel sorry for those 6 men who are now lying in a hospital, two of them, I believe, in a critical condition. They were human guinea pigs in a drug test that went horribly wrong. I can't comment on why things went so wrong for this particular experiment, as my information, comes from the same sources as most peoples, namely the media. No doubt investigations are under way and questions are being raised about the manner in which the trial was conducted and why things went so horribly pear shaped. I feel for these men and their families because they have an agonising journey of uncertainty, which will carry on long after this story fades off the news radar.

The drug that they were trialling does not have a name yet, it is simply calledTGN 1412 which is one in series of drugs that scientists hoped would be a cure for a number of diseases including cancer. Unfortunately the whole thing had a catastrophic outcome and it has once again raised the debate on human and animal medical trials.

I've been thinking about what motivates people to loan their bodies to science. I came up with the advancement of knowledge, the selfless act of being part of a process that will provide a better opportunity for future generations. And I guess for some people, the offer of monetary compensation.

For whatever the reasons, if it weren't for people volunteering to be part of scientific research and experimentation, a lot of us wouldn't have the prolonged quality of life that we do today. Despite being made aware of the possibility of fatalities and errors, they are still willing to participate. It is thanks to these human guinea pigs, that we have new medicines. Testing on animals alone is not a valid measure of accuracy in drug exploration as the human body may pick up potential problems that are not seen in animals. Experimentation on humans is therefore vital to scientific research and we cannot discount the fact that millions of lives have been saved as a result of it.

There is always goings to be risks when it comes to experimentation. But, I'm sure that members of the scientific community as well as those that have previously volunteered for clinical trials of drugs will testify that almost all these trials are held in controlled environments, done with adherence to extremely strict requirements and regulations, and have for the most part been quite successful.

While I will freely admit that I am neither selfless nor brave enough to volunteer my time or body for scientific research, I do salute those brave souls that do. One can only hope that tragedies like this do not repeat themselves.

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