Before they induced me they, I did sign a form. I remember signing a consent form to say that they, they could take my stem cells and also if I needed any other further intervention due to the pregnancy and possible caesarean, I signed those then. And I think they took, they took a blood test after, I think - yes, after I’d had my caesarean, but I really wasn’t very compos mentis at that stage [laughs] because I’d had an epidural and rather a lot of gas and air. So little bit hazy on those details [laughs].
So they took consent quite a long time after you’d first read the information?
Yes. Yeah. I’m not sure, I mean, from what I remember - I didn’t keep the information leaflet unfortunately - but I don’t think it was the national database that I signed up for. I think it was a local bio-banking for local research, rather than a national one, because I don’t think they do the national one in our centre - yet. I mean, they may well do soon but yeah.
I mean, I suppose, I’m just interested in this gap…
Mm.
… between when they gave you the leaflet, which was sort of 18 weeks in …
Yes.
.. and then you don’t sign consent till some time later?
I signed consent just before I gave birth.
Basically. Well, when George was delivered, yeah. It was a long gap in between. But I had brought it up a couple of times with my midwife and you know, when I saw her at my antenatal appointment I mentioned the fact that I’d read this leaflet and I really wanted to do it, and she put it in my notes. And so anybody seeing the notes was aware that I wanted to do this.
And they just said it was very simple, if you didn’t want to consent, if you wanted to un-consent, all you had to do was just let them know, or decide not to sign the form just before you gave birth.
I mean, it, there was a long, there was quite a gap before - I mean, it sounds as if I was signing just as they were wheeling me into the operating theatre - but it was, it was about eight hours before, so I was fully compos mentis. And I actually, I remember coming out, when I came out of the anaesthetic, talking to my husband. I said, “They did do the stem cell thing, didn’t they?” And he said, “Yes, they did.”
Did you feel you could still remember enough about what was in the leaflet and what you’d consented to?
Yes. Yes. I mean, it, because you weren’t really consenting to very much. All you were, I mean, it literally was they were going to take it off after you gave birth, and you gave a blood test at, you know, at the same time, and then that was, that was it. So there really wasn’t very much that you had to do, and so it wasn’t something that I felt I needed to revisit at any time. I felt I’d given, been given plenty of information on the sheet, and I thought, you know, I give blood, I’ve donated blood and various things to other research projects at various points. I’ve got no problem with, you know, furthering research. And I just thought, you know, it would only end up in the bin if I didn’t, so why not?
And so I really had no problem with the consent issue. It, even though it was a long time since I had the leaflet. There was a telephone number that you could ring up and ask for further information if you wanted any more details. But I didn’t feel I needed them. So…
