According to Maggie’s writeup, “UC Davis officials say that approval was poorly done — that the patients had misunderstood the surgeons and vice versa — leading to a situation where the volunteers can’t really be said to be truly volunteering.”
or the surgeons promising it would work.
I didn’t say that any surgeon promised it would work, nor do I know the details of exactly how it was proposed, but the whole point is that when the balance of power is as I described it, and a doctor tells a terminally ill person that they have a strong hunch that something could just work, the consent can sometimes go from “informed consent” to “wishful thinking consent.” That’s why IRB boards exist, to provide an unbiased advocate for the patient.
