To the Editor: I am the physician-researcher
formerly affiliated with Washington University in St Louis, Mo, whose legal
case was discussed in the Health Law and Ethics article on ownership and use
of tissue specimens for research.1 Drs Hakimian
and Korn got it backward in stating that I maintain that individuals enrolled
in my research protocols during my tenure at Washington University “ . . . waived
their rights to their tissue samples through language in the informed consent
document.” To the contrary, it is my strong belief that, according to
federal regulations, research participants cannot waive their rights to their
tissue samples.2