NIH Vaccine Research Center Malaria Trial Update

Found out some cool things, and wanted to share details with a few folks who were curious about the program;

Call 1-866-833-5433 to participate in the trial. It doesn't have to be the Malaria trial, either, they have several open. General requirements are;

* you have to be age 45 or younger
* you need to be free of autoimmune disorders (psoriasis, crohns, lupus, etc)
* meet all the regular criteria for donating blood
* be available for regular follow-up appointments (blood draws are almost always a part of the follow-up)

But you need to not be skeeved out by the idea of being mosquito-bitten. I learned that the "trial" which will involve me getting bit by malaria-positive mosquitoes will require that five mosquitoes have a "full feeding". They put a glass compartment against my skin, avec mosquito, visually confirm that it feeds, then they examine the mosquito to confirm it got a full meal. If Señor Skeeter has failed to eat fully, then I will be bitten by another mosquito. And so on, until five full feedings have taken place.

I've been assured they will provide the anti-itch topical cream.

If you live near the DC area, need some extra cash, want to make the world a better place (and can stand the thought of deliberately letting mosquitoes feeding on you), give them a call.

And you get copies of all the cool blood work and the EKG they do while screening you. It was actually reassuring to see, for instance, that my kidney function was normal (since I had a screening blood draw two days after my Dad had a kidney stone surgically removed). It doesn't include a cholesterol screening (unfortunately), but hey, free tests. My hematocrit screened a little low, so the next time, I'm supposed to have red meat and green leafy vegetables before a blood draw. So hey, eating steak for science!

And swag! You get a pen, a little backpack, a mug. Most mornings, they have little sack lunches with a muffin and some orange juice for volunteers, too.

Seriously, the reason to do it is for the money (which is good) and the benefit to the world (which is incalculable).