Participation in an NIH Study
I was recently at the National Institute of Health. My family and I are involved in a study there. Since I had not flown in an airplane since pre-9/11 it was quite an experience for me. The police and armed guards were initially intimidating and security was everywhere.
We did get a chance to travel off campus through the metro system (subway) and after a couple of confusing turns we ended up at the Smithsonian exit and did a lot of sightseeing in the nation's capitol. There were a lot of changes since I was a boy living there in the late 70s and early 80s.
President Obama happened to visit NIH while we were there and initially I thought he wanted to speak to me about the comments I made about health care not too long ago in my blog. But alas, he didn't.
Being part of a study has benefits in that we can help future generations in developing medications and treatment techniques that can assist the medical community as a whole. Having a cooperative family such as ours that is willing to do whatever it takes is certainly beneficial for future studies as well.
So this got me to thinking. If you were asked to participate in a study that will not directly benefit you, would you do it so others may benefit from it?