Human trials are important in the realm of scientific research as they are a key step in

determining the efficacy of a treatment, as well as the safety for patients as new treatments are

developed and passed from the lab to pharmacies and hospitals around the world.

The term ‘guinea pig’ is used when referring to subjects who have little knowledge of the scope

or mechanics of a research study. A non-consenting patient may be subjected to unethical

treatments that cause them excess harm and/or have no real value advancing medicine. This

term, in all reality, should be irrelevant in today’s medical system as there are many checks and

balances in place to ensure patient safety.

Currently, there is a system set in place to prevent patients from becoming medical

‘guinea pigs’. This has not always been the case, as was evident throughout the 20th century in

the Tuskegee syphilis study and Nazi experimentations. Unfortunately, many of the cases of

mistreatment have been against minorities and peoples belonging to lower economic classes. As

the community became more aware of the criminal actions taken in research settings, legislation

was put into the works to protect the subjects. As a direct response to the Nazi war crimes, the

Nuremburg code was put into place focusing on voluntary informed consent, favorable

risk/benefit analysis, and right to withdraw without repercussions.2This code still applies to

research today and additional safeguards have been put into place. As it relates to FDA research,

all modern clinical trials ensure that toxicity data and animal testing is performed and determined

to be successful before any sort of human investigation can begin. These steps ensure that a
 study has real potential to be a viable and beneficial in humans before anyone is put in harm’s

way.

In accord with federal statutes, those who participate in clinical trials are not guinea pigs.

There are an abundance of measures that have been retrospectively set in place to avoid

historical lapses in human treatment. According to the Nuremburg code, all patients are given the

right to informed consent, favorable risk/reward, and the ability to withdraw at any time. In a

perfect world, there would be no need for human testing but modern safety measures allow for

the best possible outcome and the opportunity to benefit many lives other than your own.

1. Lenards N. Protocols & Studies in Radiation Oncology: History, Ethics and Consent. [PowerPoint]. La Crosse, WI:

UW-L Medical Dosimetry Program; 2018.

2. Rice TW. The historical, ethical, and legal background of human-subjects research. Advances in pediatrics.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18811995. Published October 2008. Accessed June 14, 2018.