New Human-Based Study Refutes Past March of Dimes’ Findings on Visual Deprivation in Kittens

Among the most infamous of the animal experiments funded by the March of Dimes was a study in which experimenters sewed the eyes of kittens closed in order to show that early visual deprivation permanently affects the brain. A new Massachusetts Institute of Technology study shows that the March of Dimes’ experiment was as pointless as it was cruel. The new study found that a young woman who was born blind and whose sight was restored at age 12 had almost normal vision 20 years later—showing that, in humans, early visual deprivation does not preclude the possibility of regaining sight. This finding also brings new hope to people with congenital blindness.   

To help urge the March of Dimes to focus on human-relevant research, sign up to hand out leaflets at a March of Dimes Walk-America event near you this spring. Order your leaflets today! Visit www.ReformTheMarchOfDimes.org, or call 202-686-2210, ext. 385.