Your Spleen Is Not Worth What It Used to Be: Moore v. Regents of UCLA
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Authors
Horan, Catherine Caturano
Issue Date
1991
Volume
24
Issue
Type
Journal Article
Language
Keywords
Alternative Title
Abstract
INTRODUCTION|Until recently, severed tissue had no market value. Cells, tissues, and body parts from live patients were either used for dissection or simply discarded. But as the field of biotechnology has broadened, the components of the human body have begun to have monetary value. The essential tissues and cells used in the biotechnical industry must come from the human body. As that industry has now discovered, along with these tissues and cells come individuals who claim property rights.|In a 1989 report, the Office of Technology Assessment ("OTA") found that research results are usually derived from specimens from many patients. This finding has led researchers to fear lawsuits by the numerous individuals who can be identified as possible sources of specimens, as well as a fear of class actions by all who contributed cells to the research. Such lawsuits could create a great burden on the important research being conducted in this field. Researchers are also wary of the potential for abuse if a court decides that patients should be compensated for their cells. Patients in search of the highest bidder for their cells could create dangerous delays in the research process, as well as an increase in the cost of the research. Because a decision affirming the property rights in cells removed from a patient could decrease financial incentives for researchers, the decision by the Supreme Court of California in Moore v. Regents of the University of California" has been eagerly anticipated by hospitals and researchers in the biotechnical industry...
Description
Citation
24 Creighton L. Rev. 1423 (1990-1991)
Publisher
Creighton University School of Law