> In the US, animal-based skin substitutes require levels of scrutiny from the Food and Drug Administration and animal rights groups that can drive up costs, Lee said. Given the substantial supply of donated human skin, tilapia skin is unlikely to arrive at American hospitals anytime soon.
This reminds me of Milton Friedman’s arguments against the FDA.
lukebitts•25m ago
I wonder what’s the difference between countries that drives that. It’s not like Brazil doesn’t have its own FDA, which is much more strict than the US one, from what I know. Maybe some kind of lobbying? Or are animal rights group that much stronger?
MattGaiser•20m ago
I imagine it is about this:
> But Brazil lacks the human skin, pig skin, and artificial alternatives that are widely available in the US.
This is not an improvement on existing methods (it may end up being, but that is not the motivation) but rather a case of it being all they have to work with.
Tilapia skin is probably better than no skin at all.
sammy_rulez•12m ago
It's old news. There is even “And Dream of Sheep” — Grey’s Anatomy, Season 15 Episode 17.
That’s the episode where they mention using tilapia fish skin to treat burns.
Original U.S. air date: March 14, 2019.
petesergeant•8m ago
And a 2017 Good Doctor episode
elemdos•4m ago
Old news comes off dismissive. Doesn’t have to be a brand new discovery to be noteworthy.
elric•3m ago
Doesn't make it any less interesting. And in spite of it not being new, it doesn't look like it's out of the experimental stage: the article mentions it's difficult to get the tilapia skin processed and sterilized.
primaprashant•5m ago
They used this exact treatment in an episode of The Good Doctor, S01E06. Original air date: October 30, 2017
sMarsIntruder•45m ago
This reminds me of Milton Friedman’s arguments against the FDA.
lukebitts•25m ago
MattGaiser•20m ago
> But Brazil lacks the human skin, pig skin, and artificial alternatives that are widely available in the US.
This is not an improvement on existing methods (it may end up being, but that is not the motivation) but rather a case of it being all they have to work with.
Tilapia skin is probably better than no skin at all.