From in vivo to in vitro: How the Guatemala STD Experiments Transformed Bodies Into Biospecimens

Abstract

There should be a complete public accounting of whether biospecimens from the Guatemala and Tuskegee experiments are held in US government biorepositories today. If they still exist, these specimens should be retired from such biorepositories and their future disposition determined by stakeholders, including representatives from the communities from which they were derived.

The Stacked Community Engagement model: A practical model for developing community-engaged academic medical faculty

“…Healthcare and academic institutions have not always historically been good partners to the communities they serve, in some cases "poisoning the well" for future potential CE practitioners [13]. This may be particularly true for underserved communities and communities of color, which may have many reasons for distrust of medical researchers [35,36]. The trauma and sequelae of such violations of trust can last generations [37].…”

Decolonizing Epidemiological Research: A Critical Perspective

“…15,16 The Guatemala Syphilis Experiment, a nonconsensual human experimentation study with a mix of observational and interventional components, was another notorious human subject research project conducted between 1946 and 1948. [17][18][19] American researchers, led by Dr. John C. Cutler, collaborated with Guatemalan health officials to carry out the study, which aimed to investigate the effectiveness of penicillin in preventing and treating syphilis and other sexually transmitted infections. The experiment involved intentionally exposing vulnerable populations, including Guatemalan soldiers, prisoners, and mental health patients, to syphilis, gonorrhea, and chancroid without their informed consent.…”

Increasing Ancestral Diversity in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Clinical Studies

“…For example, many Black Americans have mistrust toward clinical studies rooted in historical abuses during slavery in the US as well as due to such studies as the Tuskegee Syphilis Study, which involved withholding curative antibiotic therapy from Black male subjects who had syphilis in order to study the natural history of the disease (20,21). There are numerous other instances of mistreatment of racial minorities by medical investigators including non-anesthetized surgical experiments performed on three Black enslaved women in Alabama between 1845 and 1849 (22), a study conducted from 1946 to 1948 that involved intentionally infecting Guatemalans with sexually-transmitted diseases without informed consent (23), and an experimental hepatitis A vaccine study conducted in Lakota Sioux Indian newborns that did not disclose potential risks to parents (24) (Tawara Goode, MA, Georgetown University).…”