A Veterans Affairs study, headed by Dr. Samuel Ho from 2013 to 2016, involved liver tissue, blood, stool, and urine samples collected from patients with alcoholism and liver disease without their consent.
Sick US veterans had liver tissue harvested by doctors involved in a military research operation, in breach of department regulations and putting patients “at serious risk”, according to a report from the government's whistleblower watchdog service to the White House.
In a document issued to US President Joe Biden this week, the Office of Special Counsel announced that its investigation into the Veterans Affairs (VA) research project revealed a conversation within the VA as to whether liver biopsies are considered standard care.
The project claimed that the operations were valid, but admitted that they sometimes conducted the procedure without the consent of the patient.
According to the special counsel in a memo to President Joe Biden on Tuesday, whistleblowers who revealed the information had made serious arguments that the VA is incorrect about their degree of care being misreported and veterans could be harmed and possibly killed as a result of unnecessary operations.
In the final report, Kerner said that he appreciated the enthusiasm by the VA to conduct another investigation, but noted that the VA's conclusions in its own evaluation were not consistent with whistleblower testimony.
He highlighted “several egregious flaws” in research…
