HUMAN TISSUE: HANDLE WITH CARE

摘要

Somewhere in a medical laboratory, there may be a scientist who knows far more about you than you do yourself. Labs in hospitals, medical schools, and biotechnology and drug companies across the U.S. hold more than 300 million samples of human blood, tumors, skin, hearts, kidneys, livers, placenta, em- bryos, sperm, ova, hair, urine, and even sweat, which can contain skin cells. The samples might come from potentially cancerous tumors, organs removed during surgery, or cells taken from inside your mouth to check for infections. Because the tissues are crucial for studying the workings of human genes, hospitals, biotech companies, and pharmaceutical houses are racing to collect them. Every year, 20 million samples are being added to the nation's tissue banks.