SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT:
“WONDER DRUG” LAUNCHED 06/27/2023
How Many Thalidomide babies Were born in the US?
Every source from 1962 through 2019 has quoted an incorrect number of “thalidomide babies” born in the United States. FDA records investigated by journalist Jennifer Vanderbes suggest that dozens of babies were never identified or officially counted.
The official FDA count released in the 1960s was seventeen thalidomide babies born in the United States. Nine of them were born to mothers who took samples made by American drug companies. Eight other mothers said they obtained the drug in other countries.
There were many more. In 2023, Random House released WONDER DRUG: THE SECRET HISTORY OF THALIDOMIDE IN AMERICA AND ITS HIDDEN VICTIMS, detailing the previously unreported suspicions raised by the original FDA investigation.
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Thalidomide in the USA: Seeking a Life of Dignity and Independence
A few of approximately 150 self-identified survivors we have located since 2016
Bonnie: born in Illinois in 1962
JoJo: born in New York in 1962
Jean: born in Ohio in 1962
Laura: born in California, 1958
Darren: born in Missouri in 1962
Steve: born in New Jersey, 1962
Gwen: born in Ohio in 1962
Burt: born in Wisconsin in 1957
Kim: born in Pennsylvania in 1959
Jan: born in Oklahoma in 1962
Tawana: born in North Carolina in 1963
Gianna: born on a US Military Base in 1962
John: born in Mississippi in 1959
Terrie: born in 1964
Bobbie:
Leslie: born in Maryland, 1959
Marta: born in New York in 1961
Randall: born on a US military base, Madrid, Spain, 1958
Latest News
Entered for a Pulitzer prize: “The Devil in the Details”
The Doctor Who Said No To Thalidomide In 2024, Lost Women of Science embarked upon a podcast, a 5 part series that looks into -- with depth and accuracy -- the Thalidomide tragedy in the USA, and Dr. Frances Kelsey. Many members of USA Thalidomide Survivors as well as...
Thalidomide Survivor Speaks Out in People magazine
Learn more about the American thalidomide survivors' quest for justice more than 60 years after their mothers unwittingly took samples of the unapproved drug while pregnant in the July 25 2023 issue of People magazine
Interview with Wonder Drug author Jennifer Vanderbes on The Jimmy Malone Show
Cleveland Radio host and comedian Jimmy Malone talks with author Jennifer Vanderbes about the hidden history of thalidomide in America. Jimmy remembers the incomplete story told in magazine and newspaper stories in the 1960s.
Harvard Public Health Magazine reviews Wonder Drug:
Richard J. Tofel, a member of Harvard Public Health's advisory board and former ProPublica president, reviewed the "riveting new book 'Wonder Drug: The Secret History of Thalidomide in America and Its Hidden Victims' by Jennifer Vanderbes in this July 17 article:...
Washington Post reviews “Wonder Drug” to be published by Random House on June 27, 2023
In the Washington Post today, Perri Klass, a professor of journalism and pediatrics at New York University, reviews the new book "Wonder Drug: The Secret History of Thalidomide in America and its Hidden Victims” by Jennifer Vanderbes, to be released by Random House on...
NPR interview with Jennifer Vanderbes on her new book “Wonder Drug”
NPR's Ayesha Rascoe interviewed author Jennifer Vanderbes about her new book, Wonder Drug: The Secret History of Thalidomide in America and Its Hidden Victims on Weekend Edition June 25, 2023.
From Our Blog
Excerpt from Chapter 1 – My Prosthetic Life
CHAPTER 1 Who in the hell do you think you are, Laura? Doesn’t everyone have a different idea or opinion of who we are? We are judged by family, friends, acquaintances, and strangers differently, aren’t we? Even those who know us best have their own ideas of who we...
USA Thalidomide Survivors’ 5th “Annual” Conference
“Winners never quit, and quitters never win.” ~ Vince Lombardi Our march to congress in Washington D.C. this year was powerful, fun, productive and exhausting!!! I can’t wait to tell you how successful it was, but first things first! Thank you to the Event Planning...
Finally! A recap of the US Thalidomide Survivors’ 4th “Annual” Conference
Back row: Paul and LorXena Koneczny, Laura Kendall. Front row: Gwen Riechmann and the star of our show, Aragon, on his first big service dog trip. He not only looked mahvelous – he did great! We were missing an important member of our team, Lori Kay. She couldn’t be...