In the Amazon, Giving Blood but Getting Nothing

Blood samples from Amazon tribes are ideal for certain types of research because their isolation from the outside world allows scientists to track illnesses through generations. Researchers promised future medicine to Amazon tribes in Brazil in exchange for donating blood. The first research teams arrived in the 1970s. Using the internet, the Karitiana tribe has since discovered that their blood was sold to scientists around the world, for $85 per sample. Other tribes have similar grievances, although scientists insist that blood samples have resulted in no cures or profit as yet. One company, Coriell Cell Repositories, says that it only provides specimens to researchers who agree not to commercialize their results or transfer the material to others. Regardless, some tribes demand the return of their blood samples. Modern medical research requires researchers to obtain informed consent from people before any work begins. But research projects involve medical, business, cultural, political and numerous other nuances – and complete understanding of some studies could require more than a few sentences of explanation. – YaleGlobal