Few aspects of Notice of Proposed Rulemaking regarding the Common Rule have generated as much discussion as the possible requirement to obtain informed consent for the future use of biological specimens, including those without identifiers attached. Rebecca Skloot’s book The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks (well worth a read if you haven’t gotten to it yet) examined described a famous case of tissue being used without consent. Henrietta Lacks’ cancer cells have been used for decades and were initially taken without the Lacks’ family’s knowledge or consent. Skloot recently had an opinion piece published in the New York Times in which she discusses some of the issues surrounding the current proposal to require consent for such uses in the future. Please take a look at her column.