Pro-Life Org Catches UCLA San Diego Lab Trying to Acquire Fetus Parts By Cold Calling

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May 28, 2019

The Center for Medical Progress exposed a laboratory in University of California San Diego for its desire to obtain “fresh” human fetal pancreas tissues.

In a tweet, CMP declared that this lab will buy aborted baby parts “from ANYBODY–even without bothering to check who they are emailing.”

CMP highlighted several parts of an email chain when corresponding with this laboratory.

In the first entry of the email chain, Agnieszka D’Antonio-Chronowska, a postdoctoral researcher at this lab, asked CMP to provide “fetal pancreas tissue from 4-5 donors” for analysis.

CMP replied to research assistant’s request stating that the fetal samples are available from “termination clinics in San Diego and Riverside” up to 24 weeks’ gestation.

The center added that “market rates for fresh samples right now tend to range from $500 to $700”, while also detailing additional costs for transportation.

D’Antonio-Chronowska responded by asking for a transportation option that has the “fastest possible delivery.”

Unbeknownst to the research, CMP is a staunchly pro-life group that was attempting to expose this lab’s questionable research policies.

The lab tried reaching out to CMP by phone, but no one answered. The UCLA San Diego-based lab was then requesting for “heart specimens from 3 donors.”

CMP’s Executive Director David Daleiden revealed that his organization put in a public records request for all documents “reflecting UC San Diego’s purchase of aborted baby body parts” from local sellers.

Daleiden stated, “We asked the UC San Diego researchers questions to find out more details about their taxpayer-funded involvement in the market for aborted body parts and ethically challenged fetal experimentation.”

The university released a statement defending the lab’s behavior:

UC San Diego researchers sought fetal pancreas and heart tissue to better understand how each person’s unique set of genes contributes to disease risk throughout life, in particular the development of diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Some diseases begin in utero, thus the importance of studying organs and disease at the fetal stage.

The university statement added that UCSD “intends to comply with all legal and ethical requirements” for the obtainment of fetal tissue as required by the National Institutes of Health.