03-25-2015, 09:29 AM
So, (contested) health benefits, cultural/traditional beliefs, and religious doctrines seem to be why a majority of American parents request or allow their baby boys to be circumcised.
How about the hospitals, doctors and other medical professionals -- do they have a vested interest in foreskin removal?
According to a new article I saw this morning, you bet your a$$ they do.
Snip (npi):
When you go into a hospital, do you expect the hospital and biotech industries to make a profit from your surgical specimens? Well in the case of circumcision, your child’s foreskin could be making thousands of dollars for the biotech industry.
A baby’s foreskin is full of cells, called fibroblasts, that produce structural proteins like collagen. When fibroblasts are extracted, multiple products can be developed, such as artificial skin for plastic surgery, injectable wrinkle treatments and even skin creams that sell for hundreds of dollars per jar.
The ethical question is: Should you be informed that your child’s foreskin is going to become a profitable commodity? Circumcision continues to be a controversial topic, but the majority of people don’t realize that many of the byproducts from human bodies translate to big bucks for biotech companies.
The question that I have is: Who does that foreskin belong to? Right now, this industry is not very well regulated. Yes, the FDA keeps tabs on tissue banks nationally, but many of them also have affiliations and partnerships outside the U.S. where the FDA has no regulatory control.
Story: http://www.foxnews.com/health/2015/03/23...-eyebrows/
How about the hospitals, doctors and other medical professionals -- do they have a vested interest in foreskin removal?
According to a new article I saw this morning, you bet your a$$ they do.
Snip (npi):
When you go into a hospital, do you expect the hospital and biotech industries to make a profit from your surgical specimens? Well in the case of circumcision, your child’s foreskin could be making thousands of dollars for the biotech industry.
A baby’s foreskin is full of cells, called fibroblasts, that produce structural proteins like collagen. When fibroblasts are extracted, multiple products can be developed, such as artificial skin for plastic surgery, injectable wrinkle treatments and even skin creams that sell for hundreds of dollars per jar.
The ethical question is: Should you be informed that your child’s foreskin is going to become a profitable commodity? Circumcision continues to be a controversial topic, but the majority of people don’t realize that many of the byproducts from human bodies translate to big bucks for biotech companies.
The question that I have is: Who does that foreskin belong to? Right now, this industry is not very well regulated. Yes, the FDA keeps tabs on tissue banks nationally, but many of them also have affiliations and partnerships outside the U.S. where the FDA has no regulatory control.
Story: http://www.foxnews.com/health/2015/03/23...-eyebrows/