It's... a difficult balance to strike and it definitely slows down progress. I can't say it's something that should necessarily change but it can be... difficult, especially when vital research that could save thousands if not millions of lives is hindered by it.
Actually, a lot of the treatments we have for hypothermia these days are based on the experiments of Doctor Joseph Mengele during the 1940's in Nazi Germany. His methods were completely inhumane but without some of that research, we never would've been able to save as many lives as we do today.