The Trauma Victims and their Blood

Humanity’s journey to understanding the body has been a gory one - littered with unethical experiments, unintended consequences and unimaginable endurance.

In The Human Subject, Dr Adam Rutherford and Dr Julia Shaw investigate the threads connecting modern day medicine to its often brutal origins.

This is the story of Martha Milete, whose life changes forever one night in 2006 when two masked men break into her house where she lives with her fiancé and two children. She unfortunately gets shot, but that is only the beginning of her ordeal.

The moment she is wheeled into the ambulance she is automatically enrolled in an experiment involving her blood. One she would only find out about years later when speaking with Dr Harriet Washington, a medical ethicist and author of several books, including Carte Blanche: The Erosion of Medical Consent.

Julia and Adam hear from Dr Washington who has followed Martha’s story closely.

Presenters: Dr Adam Rutherford and Dr Julia Shaw

Producers: Rufaro Faith Mazarura and Simona Rata

Assistant Producer: Mansi Vithlani

Executive Producer: Jo Meek

Sound Design: Craig Edmondson

Commissioner: Dan Clarke

An Audio Always production for BBC Radio 4