usats__0005_ Building Community Through Shared Experiences

Join USA Thalidomide

2026 Conference Registration is closed

We reached capacity and registration for this year’s conference is now closed.

We’re Looking Forward to welcoming everyone to washington, dc – it’s almost here, and we can’t wait to see you!

If you were hoping to attend and would like to be added to the waitlist, please contact us.

We hope you’ll join us for our 2027 Conference—we’d love to see you there!

2026 USA Thalidomide Survivor Conference banner with theme "Finishing the Fight - Seeking Action on Bill H.R. 5865" with images of the US Capitol and a 2nd image of USA Thalidomide Survivors in front of Capitol

BILL NEWS

Our Bill

Click here to read: BILLS-119hr5865ihTo visit the Bill, HR 5865, on the US government website, click here.

COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT

WITH MORE OF US - WE CAN DO MORE - volunteer opportunities at usa thalidomide.org

Click here to send a quick note and let us know you’re interested—we’d love to hear from you.

LATEST NEWS

Entered for a Pulitzer prize: “The Devil in the Details”

The Doctor Who Said No To Thalidomide In 2024,...

WONDER DRUG

by: Jennifer Vanderbes

THE SECRET HISTORY OF THALIDOMIDE IN AMERICA AND ITS HIDDEN VICTIMS

Detailing the previously unreported suspicions raised by the original FDA investigation.

Book cover pictures child with curly blonde hair and no arms using her feet to play with a toy. Wonder Drug: The Secret History Of Thalidomide In America And Its Hidden Victims.

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.

- 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.
- FDA records investigated by journalist Jennifer Vanderbes suggest that dozens of babies were never identified or officially counted.

There were many more…

Watch Our Documentaries

Thalidomide in the USA: the Forgotten Survivors

by: C. Jean Grover Productions

Thalidomide in the USA: Seeking a Life of Dignity and Independence

by: USA Thalidomide Survivors

News and Stories

The Thalidomide Cost to American Survivors

Editor's note: US Thalidomide survivor, Burt Pusch, has done the math on costs associated with our thalidomide injuries, over our lifetimes. This is by no means an exhaustive list; but gives an overview of the increased hardships our members are facing; and...

The Glass Ceiling of Thalidomide

I am sitting right now, looking upward at a glass ceiling right above my head, so close that it concerns me. I can see where I want to go, but I can’t get there.

Different yet the same.

Common Challenges Faced by USA Thalidomide Survivors Imagine; you live in a body that resembles few others. Instead of 10 fingers, you have three. Instead of two legs, you have one and a half. Your congenital uniqueness doesn’t stop there. Your anatomy, arms, legs,...