from their decision to allow testing of the vaccine. 
Mr. Rif kin responded by saying it was not a legal point that was 
being offered but rather whether the RAC considered that the NIH 
Guidelines should be applicable in other countries when the money 
that goes into the research comes from this country. 
Dr. Rapp said the NIH ruling on the Wistar case isn't something 
the RAC should be taking up. It may be good to question whether 
the NIH Guidelines will prevent unexpected deliberate release in 
other countries with materials manufactured in the U.S. Further, 
as regards the Sabin vaccine, he said, "if actually Sabin's 
vaccine had killed a couple of thousand Russian children, would 
we look at it rather differently?" He said perhaps we had an 
obligation to ensure that investigators adhere to the NIH 
Guidelines before sending materials abroad. 
Dr. Pirone pointed out that Section I-C as currently written 
states : 
"If the host country, however, has 
established rules for the conduct of 
recombinant DNA projects, then a certifi- 
cate of compliance with those rules may be 
submitted. . . " 
Dr. Pirone said that if a researcher desired to test something 
abroad that this could be the way that it could be performed with 
the consent of the foreign country. Further, he pointed to the 
sentence in Section I-C which states: 
"The Guidelines are also applicable to 
projects done abroad if they are supported by 
NIH funds." 
Dr. Pirone said he could see how the NIH lawyers could construe 
portions of a research endeavor to be separate projects. The 
funding of each project could be construed to apply only to that 
project and not the overall research endeavor. 
Dr. Gartland added that historically the sentence in the NIH 
Guidelines that states: 
"The Guidelines are also applicable to 
projects done abroad if they are supported by 
NIH funds." 
was inserted in the NIH Guidelines with the intention of covering 
research grants which were being awarded to foreign institutions. 
The word "project" in this sentence has always been construed to 
be equivalent to "research grant" or "contract." 
[52] 
Recombinant DNA Research, Volume 13 
