Controversial medical trial participant talks exclusively

With the terrifying news that six men are fighting for their lives in a London hospital after a clinical drugs trial went horribly wrong, The Claim Solicitors (www.the-claim-solicitors.co.uk) have spoken exclusively to a former medical testing participant to find out why anybody would consider risking their health in such a way.

The personal injury solicitors based in the south of England were shocked to hear how one of the men is on a life support machine suffering from multiple organ failure, and according to his girlfriend, "looks like the Elephant Man".

To fully understand the situation, they managed to track down a former student, who took part in a clinical drugs trial several years ago, and asked him his reasons for volunteering as a guinea pig. "Money, pure and simple," he said.

The 24-year-old, who only revealed his name as Jake, said, "I was in my third year at university in Manchester and my tuition fees and living costs had eaten up my student loan and overdraft. I needed some cash to get me through until the summer and medical testing seemed like the perfect way."

It may seem sad to some that we live in a society where people sell their bodies in order to fund their education, but Jake disagrees. "Nobody forced me," he said. "I was too lazy to work and so getting paid to sit on my backside for a week seemed perfect."

After rigorous medical examinations and health checks, Jake was selected to take part in a study testing the effects of an obesity drug. It was the first time it had been used on humans and he was paid nearly £800 for his time.

He told us he wasn't worried for his health and said, "All the risks were explained and we were told we could make a compensation claim if anything went wrong.

"I was in the unit for seven nights and got fed proper food for the first time in ages. I just watched football, played computer games and read books. The only drawbacks were urinating in a pot and having my blood taken several times a day, but for the amount of money I was receiving that was a small price to pay."

As far as he knows, Jake suffered no side-effects from his trial and was given another full medical several weeks later in order to check that he had not suffered any health damage.

Asked if he would volunteer himself again for medical testing, Jake told our personal injury solicitors, "I don't think so, especially in light of what's just happened.

"I never really thought of the potential damage that I could be doing myself. I guess I was blinded by the money.

"My attitude now is that you only get one body and so you should do all you can to look after it. It's probably easy to say that in hindsight, but at the time I thought a little differently.

"Hearing about that poor bloke hooked up to life support machines makes me realise just how lucky I was. You never know what could happen. It could've been me being forced to make a compensation claim to pay for my care for the rest of my life. It's not a nice thought."