5 controversies surrounding former NIH Director Francis Collins
4. Fetal organ harvesting and humanized mice
Collins also raised eyebrows for some of the funding that NIH gave to studies involving human fetal tissue, a practice he defended.
At the University of Pittsburgh, NIH-funded researchers published a study in 2020 titled, "Development of humanized mouse and rat models with full-thickness human skin and autologous immune cells," which examined how organs responded to pathogens on human skin by grafting "full-thickness human skin" as well as thymuses, livers, and spleens from fetuses onto rodent bodies, creating what they call 'humanized rat models.'"
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NIH provided nearly $3 million to the University of Pittsburgh for this research, which included establishing a "tissue hub" using fetal organs from pregnancies ranging from six to 42 weeks gestation. Some critics noted that this included full-term babies, raising ethical questions about the use of such tissue in research.
Jennifer Lahl, former president of the Center for Bioethics & Culture, documented that soon after Collins became NIH director in 2010, he testified in a U.S. Senate hearing that there is a cloud over scientific research, and made three predictions of what would happen if human embryonic stem cell research was halted and not federally funded.
He specifically predicted that scientists would become disillusioned, the U.S. would lose our best talent to countries with permissive laws and that patients would lose hope.
