A very moving article. But despite the authors elevated tone I felt a wave of depression on reading it.

An issue bothers me: why would the researchers exclude someone from a trial because his condition would confound the results? This seems callous to me. Is dying a more acceptable outcome? Why not give him every chance at living and exclude his data from the spreadsheet if need be?

I don't know the specifics of this particular situation, but one possibility is that there is a limited number of seats available. If he is admitted, then he is taking the place of someone who has a better chance at recovery (so far as they understand the disease).