 "Photo: Anna Nowotny")
Aaron Shaefer, a graphic design student at STLCC-Meramec sat in his assigned seat, number 33, so that nurses could find him in order to draw his blood. Shaefer spent two weekends, for two days each, in a clinical research facility in St. Charles. Nurses drew his blood approximately 20 times during each weekend in order to test how a generic form of morphine dissolved into his bloodstream. Two days after he completed the study, he picked up a check for $1,040.
Shaefer said he wasn’t interested in participating in the study because of a fascination with medicine or health, although his father is a respiratory therapist at Missouri Baptist Hospital. Mostly, it was his need to supplement his income.
“I was like, ‘Hey, you know what? I’m kind of short this month… and I got all this stuff coming up that I need to pay for,” Shaefer said.
Many of the participants of these types of medical studies sign up because of the opportunity to earn money.
Shaefer heard about the studies from his co-workers. A few of them had completed medical studies before and earned “easy extra cash” without interfering with their regular job, work hours, or school.
“Of the current workers there now, at least four of us have done it,” Shaefer said.
Shaefer said that one of his co-workers has done countless studies. The website for Cetero Research, the clinical research organization that conducted the study, refers to people like Shaefer’s coworker as an “active volunteer.”
“It’s like a second job for him almost,” said Shaefer.
The president of Cetero Research, Steve Unwin said that 70 percent of their studies’ participants sign up to volunteer more than once.
Shaefer plans to participate in another study this summer and would like to earn enough to buy a lap-top computer.
Whether or not people participate is a personal decision that is sometimes based on a comfort level with needles.
“I think the other guys are just content to work their hours and that’s fine. They haven’t quite gotten comfortable with the idea of selling their body to science for an extra buck or two,” Shaefer said.
Before making the decision to participate in the study, Shaefer listened to his co-workers’ accounts of the rumors and realities associated with clinical studies. If there is such a thing as a study in which participants’ toes are removed and reattached, that’s where Shaefer said he would draw the line.
In reality, the worst thing he heard from co-workers were accounts of getting stuck with a needle 40 or 50 times. Shaefer said this was not a deterrent for him.
“I’m drawn to the fact that they’re going to give me a nice chunk of change for getting stuck with a needle and giving up my weekend,” Shaefer said.
Shaefer said he considered this a “good trade-off.” He also said he considered another factor of the study an added bonus.
“They give you a full physical, EKG, heart rate, blood pressure and it’s a great benefit to you because it’s a free physical for you if you go in and get screened. It saves you going to a doctor, that’s for sure,” Shaefer said.
Unwin said this screening process is conducted in order to ensure that participants are healthy, not taking any drugs or vitamins, and not at risk for potential side effects from the drugs being tested.
“It’s not only for the quality of the data, but for their own protection as well,” Unwin said.
Shaefer passed the tests and said he did not feel he was endangering himself by participating in the study.
“What I experienced was safe. It was controlled. If there’s any potential risks that were involved, you’re notified about [them],” said Shaefer. “Obviously, you have the opportunity to say ‘If there’s any slight chance of heart attack from this medication, then maybe I don’t want to do this.’”
Shaefer said he didn’t consider any of the listed side effects a concern.
“Most of the things listed I don’t think you’re going to have to worry about if you’re a healthy individual and you take care of yourself well. Otherwise it wouldn’t be FDA-approved,” said Shaefer. “Even if it’s happened once they have to list it, a side effect that could be possible.”
In the event that an emergency might occur, Cetero’s research facility in St. Charles is equipped with medical professionals and emergency response “crash carts,” Unwin said.
“We can provide advanced life support more so than what you can just as an ambulance,” Unwin said.
Unwin explained that the most common emergency the crash carts are used for is re-hydrating people that might be vomiting if a bad reaction to a drug occurs.
Shaefer said he didn’t experience any of the side effects typically associated with morphine, such feelings of drunkness or drowsiness.
One of the ways that researchers at Cetero mitigate side effects is by requiring that participants sleep at the research facility the night before a drug is administered.
“We don’t want people out partying. Things like alcohol and the food you eat affect the way a drug reacts in your body,” said Unwin. “So we want to make sure that we control their diet, their intake of alcohol and that they get a good night sleep because they actually get dosed at 6 a.m.”
Researchers at Cetero also monitor participants’ diets. Cetero operates a commercial kitchen that passes regular inspection.
“We serve good food, too,” Unwin said.
Meals are administered at exact times and in some studies, participants have to eat everything on their plate within the allotted 30 minutes, Shaefer said.
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