Black Prisonërs used for Experiment

In 1951-1971,Oregon state penitentiary conducted an experiment where Black prisoners were injected with radioactive compound called thymidine into their testicles.

The experiment was to test the effects of radiation on the cells of the testes & the doses of radiation that would produce changes or induce damage in the cells, the amount of time it would take for cell production to recover and the effects of radiation on hormone excretion.

At the time of the Oregon experiment, using prisoners as research subjects was an accepted practice in US. in this particular study it was interpreted by state officials as permitting an inmate to give his consent to a vasectomy, consenting to becoming an experimental subject.

One of the prisoners,Henrietta Lacks, whose cells were taken without her knowledge in 1951 (HeLa cells) became one of the most important tools in medicine.Her cells became vital for developing the polio vaccine, cloning, gene mapping, in vitro fertilization and more.