Participating in a clinical trial is a bit of a bog isn’t it? You drive, sometimes an hour one way and an hour back, so that you can get tested repeatedly and answer long lists of questions, and finally you receive an injection, or a pill. Then you have to repeat it sometimes 10-20 times! Yeah, it’s a lot. But there’s a good reason behind it! And we appreciate the heroes who commit to the trial because without them the medical community would be unable to progress new treatments that change the lives of everyone on earth! So why would somebody choose to participate in a clinical trial?
Well for starters, many trial participants are looking to solve a health problem. Usually it’s something that bothers them every day, or makes living a normal life impossible. Joining a clinical trial offers volunteers access to cutting-edge medications and treatments that are being investigated for release to the public. When the available options aren’t working, people might turn to something under investigation. Many lives have been saved from cancer this way.
It’s a bit of a gamble though isn’t it? You’re willing to devote all this time and effort just to try something that doctors won’t release to the public yet. But it can be worth it! Especially in modern times. Modern precision medicine is leagues beyond what it used to be. New biologic treatments are learning to target the building blocks of our bodies and modify the way that it reacts and communicates to itself. Recent developments in clinical research are showing new drugs that can help in ways old treatments cannot!
Beyond self-interest, a surprising amount of clinical trial participants just want to help. There’s a tendency to forget that people are more often than not good natured and willing to do what it takes to help others. By participating in a clinical trial, volunteers advance medical knowledge which creates new solutions for other people with their same condition. It’s not too hard to just imagine what kind of positive effect this has on the world. If every person who was disabled through a health condition were suddenly free of their burden, they would be able to add so much more into the economy, into the arts, and into society.
Beyond these two primary reasons, some people choose to join a clinical trial for access to better and more specialized healthcare opportunities. Many clinical trials are held at leading medical institutions, and by participating in a trial, the volunteers may gain access to better care than they would otherwise have.
