Tissue banks : the dangers of tainted tissues and the need for federal regulation : hearing before the Committee on Governmental Affairs, United States Senate, One Hundred Eighth Congress, first session, May 14, 2003.

  • United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Governmental Affairs.
Date:
2003
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Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Tissue banks : the dangers of tainted tissues and the need for federal regulation : hearing before the Committee on Governmental Affairs, United States Senate, One Hundred Eighth Congress, first session, May 14, 2003. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    Mr. LYKINS. Yes. Senator PRYOR. How old was your son? Mr. LYKINS. He was 23. Senator PRYOR. You made a statement about this industry, that it is analogous to the Wild West. When you say that, do you mean that your concern is it is totally unregulated and there is no gov- ernment supervision about what is going on out there, or at least it is very limited? Mr. LYKINS. The symbolism behind that statement was, I see this industry as operating like a bunch of Wild West gunslingers that are just shooting from the hip, doing it any way they want to do it, and with no laws or regulations they are just making it up as they go. That was the thinking behind that statement. Senator PRYOR. Have you been in contact with other families who have had similar experiences? Mr. LYKINS. We have had several families that have called us and talked to us, yes. Yes, we have. Senator PRYOR. One last question on the nature of the bacterial infection. What was the origin of that bacterial infection? Was it because the tissue was not handled properly? Or was it pre-existing in the cadaver? Do you know? Mr. LYKINS. The bacteria is called Clostridium sordellii. My un- derstanding of it is it is a spore-based bacteria, which to me means it is in a little, kind of like an egg shell. It is a normal part of a decomposing body. It starts in the intestines and then moves out into the body over time. That is where the time issue is such a big deal. So it was not a pre-existing. It was allowed to—— Senator Pryor. It is naturally occurring if proper steps are not taken to prevent it? Mr. LYKINS. That is right. Senator PRYOR. Madam Chair, that is all I have. Chairman COLLINS. Thank you very much, Senator Pryor. I want to thank you so much for your very courageous and mov- ing testimony. I want to thank Tammy for being here as well. If you have anything that you feel that your parents forgot to say today or that you would like to add I just wanted to give you the opportunity. If you feel it has been covered, that is fine too. Ms. TAMMY LYKINS. I think they covered it. Chairman COLLINS. Thank you. Again, thank you so much for sharing your story with us. All of us simply cannot imagine the pain and anger you must have endured. But I want to tell you that we are committed to working with you to make sure that no other family goes through what you have gone through. That is our goal and I know it is yours as well. So thank you so much for being with us today. Mr. LYKINS. Thank you. Chairman COLLINS. I would now like to call forward our second panel. Our first witness on the second panel will be Dr. Steven Sol- omon. Dr. Solomon is the acting director of the Division of Health Care Quality Promotion at the National Center for Infectious Dis- eases which is part of the Centers for Disease Control and Preven- tion. We also will be hearing from Dr. Jeanne Linden, the director of Blood and Tissue Resources for the New York State Department