Wasted Debates review – Manchester Salon
A review of the Public Debate by Denis Joe, taken from the Manchester Salon site:
Debate on Donating Human Tissue to Art
at the Bluecoat, Liverpool
Reviewed by Denis Joe February 2012
Should living people be able to donate their own human tissue to art? Now there’s a question that’s straight forward and clear, but the answers show that society has a big discussion on its hands in answering it. The Panel introducing this discussion were:
Andy Miah, Academic and specialist in cultural ethics,
Dominic Hughes, BBC Health Correspondent
Canon Jules Gomes, Artistic Director of Liverpool Anglican Cathedral
Rt Hon Jane Kennedy, Former MP for Liverpool Wavertree and Minister of State for Health.
Chaired by Roger Phillips of BBC Radio Merseyside
At present, there are strict ethical rules relating to the use of human tissue from living people. Doctors and medical researchers must follow codes of conduct and get ethics approval (from the Human Tissue Authority) and consent from individuals to obtain tissue from living donors, for example to use tumour biopsy samples for scientific research. However, there is no ethical committee that has the authority to decide whether anyone else, an artist or museum curator for example, can obtain tissue from living consenting donors, for the purpose of making art and displaying it.
[Andy Miah]
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Read MoreRound Table debate – 1pm
The Round table discussion is taking place this afternoon at 1pm (not this morning from 11 as previously advertised). You’ll be able to follow the discussion as it is streamed live on our WATCH page.
Read MoreWatch the Debates live
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Read MoreShould use of human tissue in art projects be regulated under the Human Tissue Act?
HeLa cells derived from Henrietta Lacks (image via wikipedia)
We have come a long way in consent and use of human tissue for research since the 1950′s when a tobacco farmer called Henrietta Lacks died of cancer, some of her cells were kept and used by researchers without permission of the family. It is now estimated that millions of kilos of cells derived from Henrietta (cell line named HeLa) have been grown around the world over the subsequent years and her cells have been used in countless experiments.
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