3 ms·
I understand the dilemma, but many of those same children you are thinking of live in poverty in places such as Africa and with the misfortune of sickle cell di
by ericmay 3y ago
I understand the dilemma, but many of those same children you are thinking of live in poverty in places such as Africa and with the misfortune of sickle cell disease.
If we prevented treatment because the money could be used elsewhere, we likely wouldn’t/won’t develop a drug that we could eventually[1] make cheap enough to cure these kids and give them longer lives too. We can do better!
[1] There is a cynical take here about drug costs, geopolitics, etc. but I am rejecting that cynicism.
- robwwilliams 3y agoAs mentioned above—this is day 1. How much did the first human genome sequence cost? (Effectively several billion dollars—now $1000.) How much did the first organ transplant cost? How much did the first electronic computer cost? Yes, cost will slow widespread use but it will spur the. next wave of innovation—-some motivated by profit, some motivated by social altruism.
- ericmay 3y agoI wrote the OP :) I agree with you. What I was trying to highlight is that many of the people the person who originally responded to me was concerned about have the exact disease! And we need continued development with initial high costs to hopefully bring the costs down.