Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and Foundation History

The Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and Foundation was established in 1975. Founded by Dr. William Hutchinson in Seattle, Washington, the center has grown tremendously since it branched out from the Pacific Northwest Research Foundation. The center was developed in honor of Dr. Hutchinson's brother, a professional baseball player, who died from lung cancer in 1964. The center is an independent research site that does not offer patient care. Rather, the center focuses on the important tasks of cancer research - the scientific aspects of the disease.

There are five different departments that the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and Foundation has that are focused on different missions. Various departments have been in existence and developed since the foundation was first established. These five departments are clinical research, basic sciences, human biology, public health sciences and vaccine & infectious disease. The practices of Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and Foundation are not without their scrutiny. There were many studies conducted since the foundation was established and some of those practices were called upon in a negative manner.

In 2001, the Seattle newspaper - The Seattle Times - published a piece on the unethical practices that the center was involved in during the 1980s and the 1990s. The allegations were that the clinical trial patients were not aware of the interests that the scientists held in their patient's study. Also, the studies were touted to be unethical in that it increased the rate at which the patients were dying. Patients of Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and Foundation decided to sue the center. Out of the five patients that sued, four lost their suits and another patient was awarded $1 million for a case of laboratory damage to bone marrow. The lawsuits encouraged the research center to strengthen its policies and as of 2011, the center is still going strong in its breakthroughs with cancer and related diseases.

 


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