The Woman Behind a Secret Grey's Anatomy Experiment – WNYC

In 2006, editors from Newsweek magazine picked this picture for the front of an issue on the 25th anniversary of AIDS. The woman, Jennifer Jako, was HIV positive and 6 months pregnant. (Ethan Hill ) Feb 8, 2017 by Kenny Malone

About nine years ago, 17.5 million people tuned into an episode of Greys Anatomy that, on the surface, appeared like any other high-stakes surgery, high-drama love triangles. What those millions of Greys viewers didnt know was that they were guinea pigs for a massive, secret experiment.

That experiment was arguably a referendum about a single woman: Jennifer Jako, and her decision to become a mother.

In 1991, at the age of 18, Jako had a one night stand with a high-school friend. It was the only time shed ever had sex without a condom. She contracted HIV and spent years trying to debunk misconceptions: producing a documentary that aired on MTV, speaking at college campuses and on talk shows.

Over time, the countrys view of HIV evolved. As people started living longer, stigma decreased. People generally understood that the infection wasnt a death sentence any longer.

But there was one area people couldnt seem to understand: Pregnancy. Studies showed the general public simply didnt know or didnt believe that an HIV-positive woman, with the right treatment, had a tremendously low chance of passing the virusonto her baby less than 2-percent at the time.

Jennifer Jako got a cruel lesson in where the public stood when she appeared on the cover of Newsweek magazine, six months pregnant.

Later, as an experiment, the Kaiser Family Foundation decided to see if they could move the needle by trying something totally different: product placement of medical information in a Greys Anatomy episode.

In this episode of Only Human we tell the epic story of Jennifer Jako and how she managed to sneak into our livings rooms and, possibly, change public opinion forever.

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Only Human is a show about health that we all can relate to. Because every body has a story. Produced by WNYC Studios.

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The Woman Behind a Secret Grey's Anatomy Experiment - WNYC