US Scientists, Oil Giant Stole Indigenous Blood

[Judi Lynn]

Published on Wednesday, June 18, 2014 by Common Dreams

US Scientists, Oil Giant Stole Indigenous Blood

For years, scientists working with Maxus Energy took blood samples from hundreds of Amazonian tribal members

- Max Ocean, editorial intern


[font size=1]
Members of the Ecuadorean indigenous group known as the Huaorani
(Credit: Jean-François Renaud/cc/flickr)[/font]

U.S. scientists working together with oil company Maxus Energy took around 3,500 blood samples from the indigenous Amazonian tribe known as the Huaorani, Ecuador charged on Monday.

The Huaorani are known for a unique genetic makeup that makes them immune to certain diseases.

René Ramírez, the head of the Ecuadorian Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology, told Ecuador state TV on Monday that samples were taken from around 600 Huaorani, and that multiple pints of blood were taken from many members of the tribe. Ramírez said that it is not yet known whether the samples have resulted in any commercial gains, but that samples were sold for scientific research.

According to an initial investigation two years ago, “It was demonstrated that the Coriell Institute has in its stores samples (from the Huaorani) and that it sells genetic material from the Huaorani people.” Harvard University was among the purchasers. Specifically, the 2012 report found that since 1994, seven cell cultures and 36 blood samples were distributed to eight different countries.

In the same report the Huaorani said that scientists had tricked them into allowing their blood to be taken between 1990 and 1991; however, President Rafael Correa said that there is now evidence that samples were taken as far back as the 1970s “in complicity with the oil company operating in the area.”

The Huaorani allegedly agreed to give the blood samples because scientists lied to them about why the samples were being taken. They were told the samples were being taken for medical tests, but never received results.

According to the website Hispanically Speaking News, in his weekly radio address on Saturday, President Correa said that at least 31 research papers were written between 1989 and 2012 based on the blood samples obtained––all without the consent of the Huaorani or the royalty payments normally required.

The taking of the samples was illegal, as Ecuador’s constitution bans the use of scientific research including genetic material in violation of human rights.

According to AFP, when the allegations first emerged in 2012, the U.S. Embassy said it was not aware of the case, and they did not immediately issue a response after Ecuador brought the charges on Monday.

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http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2014/06/18-6

[Bortman33]

1. Hey, it's just

good ol' rethugliCON "bidness." Not a whole lot different then making money off the medical experiments performed in Nazi Germany in the 1930's and 40's or the syphilis, acid, and nuclear experiments performed on American citizens in the good old USA.

These should all be labeled as crimes against humanity and those involved should be treated the same way they were handled in Nuremberg and any company complicit in such treachery should be disbanded with all executives in said company banned from doing business for the rest of their lives.

Never mess with a persons "Bodily Fluids" you Strangelove Bastards!

[Uncle Joe]

2. Dracula or Vampires used to be evil monsters, now the corporate media has morphed them

into protagonists if not heroes.

Thanks for the thread, Judi Lynn.

[Igel]

3. Here's something that's odd.

A fairly quick search (20-30 minutes) shows dozens of citations saying that since the group was isolated it lacked immunity to Western diseases. This made the blood serum interesting for some kinds of research. Things like, "This blood serum component is usually indicative of this disease, but a specific group of Huaorani have never been exposed to this disease and have high levels of this blood serum component."

All the hits I found that report the group had some special immunity to some diseases date to within the last couple of days and cite the charges brought by Ecuador recently. With a couple of exceptions, which speculated that since they didn't know Western diseases perhaps they had a special immune system (or "healthier forests&quot --isolation, quarantine in other words, can have nothing to do with it. 'Nuff said about their intellectual underpinnings.

Much of the blood was drawn has part of a vaccination program. "Medical tests" may have been run, but not reported back to them. Or perhaps the research was the tests. The language is ambiguous. A standard bit of legal sophistry is to take something ambiguous and narrow its meaning to achieve the desired goal. "You said you 'served your client to the best of your ability.' So you admit that not only did you kill or have him killed, but you even butchered him, cooked him, and fed him to some friends or acquaintances. Your honor, let the record show the defendant's obvious confession!" Meh. It's not infrequent in politics, either.

I also have to wonder if the Ecuadorian constitution in the '70s had specific reference to use of genetic material in violation of human rights, or if this is a kind of temporo-legal artifice: It's illegal now, so it has always been illegal. Not every country has ex post facto laws.