Entire Transcript in Adobe Acrobat Format - National Reference ...

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One is we know that there were a lot of tissue samples out
there. We had no idea quite how many. We have a much
clearer idea. We have a very conservative estimate but a
much clearer idea now of how many. It is well over a
quarter of a billion and it may, in fact, be as many as
half a billion tissues, identifiable tissue samples, in
various tissue banks and collections in the United States.
A second motivating factor was that these
samples, which have been collected for as long as a century
and were thought to be of some scientific interest, now we
understand if they are properly stored can have analyzable
DNA, which can offer an increasingly vast amount of
information about the individual from whom the DNA was
taken.
Thirdly, a series of commentaries, some by
official groups, some by ad hoc groups, some by individuals
suggesting what ought to be done about research on such
tissue samples, both samples collected previously and
samples to be collected in the future, came to some very
strong conclusions and in many cases contradictory
conclusions. So those factors together led us to take on
the tissue sample issue.
What we are going to do this morning: We will
hear from a couple of guests. As you see at 9:30 and 9:30