Surgery Godfather-Chapter 1407 - 1059: Things Aren’t as Simple as Imagined

Sanbo Hospital’s Orthopedics and Oncology departments, specializing in tumor cases, do have a certain number of osteosarcoma patients, although the number is not very large. Some are undergoing conservative treatment, but most undergo surgery in Orthopedics.

These patients need to be carefully selected to meet certain criteria, and both the patients and their families must agree before they can participate in the experiment. The patients can neither be too old nor too young, ideally aged between 6 to 25 years, must be in the late stage and have metastasized, but their overall physical condition cannot be too poor; they must be able to withstand the experimentation.

After careful selection by the departments of Orthopedics and Oncology, it was found that there were no patients suitable for the experiment, either due to not meeting the conditions or the patients and their families not consenting. After all, it is an experiment, and it involves a new type of virus therapy, which makes many families hesitant.

To ensure that those participating in the experiment are not attracted by financial incentives, they are not informed beforehand about the significant compensation available, to prevent some families, especially those of minors, from signing up for the experiment purely for monetary reasons.

During communication with them, the compensation mentioned is very minimal, which is the norm for some clinical trials in China. In actuality, Yang Ping has prepared a compensation standard of one million RMB for each volunteer, and in case of other unforeseen circumstances, the compensation will be doubled. However, this actual compensation standard cannot be disclosed to families at the moment, which is also why it lacks sufficient allure.

To assemble the required number of patients for the experiment, Dean Xia contacted Nandu Medical University Cancer Hospital, a specialized cancer hospital with a dedicated bone and soft tissue tumor ward. Hence, the patient volume is quite large, and its bone and soft tissue tumor ward is the second-largest osteotumor medical center in China and ranks high in Asia.

Since this experiment is ethically questionable, Dean Xia kept a low profile and did not alert President Su but chose to directly discuss with the counterpart’s dean, requesting confidentiality from both sides.

Nandu Medical University Cancer Hospital, upon hearing it was Yang Ping’s experiment, cooperated very actively. Due to their abundant patient source, they promptly selected ten eligible cases to send over.

Upon reviewing the data of these patients, Yang Ping noted they were mostly minors in their teens. The incidence of osteosarcoma is very low, with around 4-5 cases per million people each year, most commonly occurring between ages 10 and 20, hence it was not surprising that these cases were minors.

After reviewing the information, Yang Ping felt a tremendous responsibility. Although the experiment poses many uncontrollable risks, within his control, Yang Ping tries to ensure that there are no mishaps.

Before admission, Yang Ping personally spoke with each of their families. Most families of these volunteer participants had already exhausted their finances running everywhere possible and had no other options. They were very receptive when they heard about the opportunity to participate in an experiment for free treatment, irrespective of the outcome; it provided them with a new option.

The families of these patients came from various professions and social classes, including lawyers, private business owners, peasants, company employees, etc., but they all shared one thing in common: significant financial pressure. One private business owner was overwhelmed as he had tried many methods, having traveled everywhere including the United States and Europe, already spending nearly a billion. In his efforts to treat his child, he also lost a lot of time managing his company, resulting in consecutive years of losses, heavily indebting him now.

One child’s family member, a lawyer, originally had a decent economic income, considered middle class. Over the years, though burdened, he underwent several surgeries and tried various treatments. Now out of options, when he heard about the need for experiment volunteers who could receive free treatment, he signed up without hesitation, fortunate that his child met the experimental criteria.

"Mr. Wang, please review these informed consent forms. If you have no objections, you can sign them, and then you can bring your child for admission and examination while waiting for the experiment."

Among these families, Mr. Wang, a lawyer, was the most understanding throughout the process, grateful for the opportunity Yang Ping provided for his child.

"No need to read them, we are fully aware and agree. I’ll sign," said Mr. Wang, looking exhausted.

"You should still read through them, make sure you understand everything before you sign," responded Yang Pin, noticing his reluctance.

Encouraged by Yang Ping’s words, Mr. Wang started to go through the informed consent forms one by one. As a lawyer, he did not scrutinize more than anyone else but instead skimmed through the contents.

When he saw as a volunteer, there was a compensation of a full million in research funding, he thought he misread it. No, it indeed was a million.

Of course, everyone participating in the experiment was not there for the money, but genuinely fighting for a glimmer of hope for their children.

"Professor Yang, is the research compensation really over a million? If there’s any mishap, it will be doubled? Isn’t this a bit too much? Honestly, you don’t have to do this, you are conducting research to treat and save people, and we should cooperate without feeling obligated to take so much money. To be honest, we’re not here for the cash, but to give our children a chance," Mr. Wang spoke sincerely.

Yang Ping reassured him, "The experiment has certain risks, and your awareness greatly helps our work. We should rightfully offer adequate compensation."

"Alright," Mr. Wang signed his name without hesitation.

The rest of the families, after discussions, encountered no major obstacles and signed as well. Only one family member requested to consider more carefully, expressing, "My child is already this far along, I need to think whether it’s still worth putting them through this." This parent, Mr. Zhao, a small subcontractor, also had struggled financially for many years.