Question

Dear staff:

This is Yu.zhou. May anybody who is good at the Health Professionalism class and had read the book entitled "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" help me with the question below. I would like the questions be answered as one or several paragraphs. Thank you, sincerely.

Based on the book "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks", answer the questions below:

Ownership of genetic material is still a vexed issue. Many human genes have been patented and a battle is currently being fought through the U.S. courts between doctors and a biotech company owning the patents for genes used in breast cancer research screening. What are your thoughts about research and patents in this now “profit making” industry? Is there an ethical way to create a finance structure for medical advancement that honors human contribution and why?

Answer 1

Answer: Nowadays breast cancer is becoming largest among the women and still there is no proper treatment for the last stage. Symptoms of breast cancer include a lump in the breast, bloody discharge from the nipple and changes in the shape or texture of the nipple or breast. And the conflict between the doctors and biotech company causes lots of problem for the common people. As both of them wants this patent for their own benefit but the people who are suffering from this disease are still in the hope to get the proper treatment. Due to this case, the time being wasted in the decision which leads patient to suffer. And along with the time money is also being wasted. The application of the current patent system to genetic material thus violates patients' rights without fulfilling the system’s goal of promoting innovation.

Ethical way to create finance structure for medical advancement is that if the government itself initiates the process and take things under their control, providing good treatment and facilities is one of the way by which people will be benefited.