There is nothing to suggest that any patient has withheld consent, just that the requirement to get consent in written form was waived. Given how sick these pat

There is nothing to suggest that any patient has withheld consent, just that the requirement to get consent in written form was waived. Given how sick these patients were this is reasonable. Time is of the essence here. If I was put in the situation these researcher are in I would act first and take the risk of being put on trial later. Real ethics means sometimes you have to do more than just follow rules.