NIH helped fund research involving donated fetal tissue, but Fauci wasn’t directly involved

Social networking posts have accused Dr. Anthony Fauci of buying “severed heads of aborted babies” and grafting “their scalps onto lab rats.”

The headline of articles around the conservative website Gateway Pundit reads, “Dr. Fauci is Funding Nasty College of Pittsburgh Study Skinning Scalps from Aborted Babies and Growing them on Lab Rats.” The web site printed a relevant video that states the college seems with an agreement with Planned Being a parent to acquire fetal tissues. 

An article in the Center for Medical Progress — an organization which has posed as researchers to secretly record encounters with Planned Being a parent previously — claimed that “Local Planned Being a parent of Western Pennsylvania abortion providers” provided the fetal tissue. 

As the claims reference a genuine study, they misleadingly characterizes Fauci’s relationship towards the research, incorrectly links the research to Planned Being a parent and falsely claims fetal tissues were purchased. 

These claims emerged following a discovery of research conducted by scientists in the College of Pittsburgh. 

The paper, printed in September 2020 and entitled “Growth and development of humanized mouse and rat models with full‑thickness our skin and autologous immune cells,” is just about the focus of scrutiny and critique. 

What’s true

The study aimed to produce mouse and rat models “with our skin, together with autologous lymphoid tissue(s) and autologous immune cells” with regards to potentially supplying “a method of staring at the human immune reaction to infection within the our skin.”

Using the word “humanized rodents” in scientific research isn’t uncommon. It describes “immunodeficient rodents engrafted with functional human tissues and cells,” based on other research around the subject.

Studies describe the procedure as “more and more important” for studies of infectious illnesses and cancer — an “alternative to in vitro studies with human tissues and nonhuman primates for study regarding human immunobiology.”

Based on the paper this claim seems to become referencing, researchers co-engrafted immunodeficient rodents and rats with “fetal skin, autologous fetal lymphoid tissues, and autologous fetal liver-derived hematopoietic stem cells.”

Fetal tissue describes tissue or cells acquired from the human embryo or fetus “following a spontaneous or caused abortion, or following a stillbirth,” based on a Congressional Research Service report. Autologous means the tissues happen to be collected in the same specimen.

Within the “ethical approval” portion of the College of Pittsburgh study, they reported the human fetal tissues used were “in the gestational chronilogical age of 18 to twenty days” and “were acquired from medically or elective indicated termination of being pregnant.” They also stated that maternal contributors provided written consent.

Following the grafts, scientists monitored the rodents for days and documented the developments with photos — most of which happen to be shared online. A few of the photos show real hair growing alongside mouse fur. 

Ultimately, they figured that the rodents support the introduction of full-thickness our skin, autologous immune cells and autologous lymphoid tissues and they “support our skin infection” when injected by using it. 

The finding “could give a platform for studying our skin infections,” the paper stated.

The study what food was in least partly based on various branches from the National Institutes of Health, based on the paper’s acknowledgments section.

Researchers established that two divisions from the NIH — the nation’s Institute of Allergy and Infectious Illnesses and also the Fogarty Worldwide Center — supported the research.

The NIAID funding — about $235,000 in 2019 — supported four separate studies that with each other aimed to “produce a novel animal model with human tissues and organ system to deal with critical understanding gaps” in Staphylococcus aureus disease, such as MRSA.

The NIH funding database described Staphylococcus aureus disease as “a significant of reason for morbidity within the U . s . States” and “a significant public health threat” because it features a high possibility of being severe and it is more and more drug-resistant.

The Fogarty Worldwide Center funding originated from a swimming pool of approximately $303,500 in 2019 that supported several efforts to train Indian medical professionals and research scientists, based on the NIH’s funding database. The funding ultimately supported seven printed studies, which it was one.

“Fogarty Worldwide Center provided support for scientists from Hyderabad, India, to get research training to build up skills to combat Aids/AIDS, TB along with other infectious illnesses via a partnership using the College of Pittsburgh,” the Fogarty Worldwide Center stated inside a statement to PolitiFact. “The India-based LEPRA Society is really a 90-year-old non-governmental organization supplying healthcare services to rural populations asia inflicted with TB, Leprosy, Aids and malaria.”

What’s false

Claims that Planned Being a parent provided the fetal tissues utilized in the experiments are false, based on the study. 

Researchers established that the fetal tissues were donated, acquired through pregnancies ended in the Magee-Womens Hospital from the College of Pittsburgh Clinic, dealing with the university’s Health Sciences Tissue Bank.

Kevin Zwick, a spokesperson for that College of Pittsburgh, stated the college “doesn’t obtain tissues from Planned Being a parent.”

There’s also no evidence that Fauci was directly involved with these studies whatsoever — beyond generally running the NIAID.

Finally, there’s no indication the fetal tissues utilized in the experiments were “purchased,” because the posts claim. Zwick confirmed the tissues utilized in the research were donated.

“The NIH and pop Abortion Control Act specifically forbid entities from profiting from the collection and change in fetal cell and tissue donations,” Zwick stated. 

He stated the college follows all federal rules regarding research using fetal tissues as well as follows Pennsylvania’s rules, which Zwick referred to as “one of the most restrictive in the united states.”

Zwick also pointed to a college policy that mandates “No remuneration, compensation or any other consideration of any sort might be provided to a lady to accept to using fetal tissues for research.”