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Henrietta Lacks died in 1951, but the exploitation of her living cells continues to this day. From COVID-19 vaccinations to the medical community’s foundational knowledge of cancer, Henrietta Lacks’s cell line, widely known as HeLa, revolutionized medical knowledge and research. Her DNA sequence was used to save the lives of millions, including those who suffered from the same cervical cancer that Lacks fought against. Despite the myriad medical advancements and strides in cancer research that Henrietta Lacks spurred, questions of medical ethics and consent rise to the forefront of her legacy.
Baltimore’s John Hopkins Hospital took Lacks’s cells without her knowledge or consent, sharing the samples with a researcher. In a cascading domino effect, Henrietta Lacks’s cells spread across the globe and built the foundation for innumerable biotechnical advancements. Pharmaceutical companies made billions off her stolen cells and the advancements owed to her cellular lineage; polio vaccine groundwork, single-cell microscopic imaging, and even cellular research in space owe their medical foundation to the HeLa line. In 2013, researchers published her genome online for the world to see, which reignited the controversy.
Two sides quickly formed in the bioethical and legal debate over Henrietta Lacks’s cells. One argued that the contributions to medicine her cells made outweighed the violations of privacy, consent, and doctor-patient confidentiality. Although the relevant laws did not exist at the time of Henrietta Lacks’s cancer treatment and subsequent tissue sampling, the other side argued that the continued financial gain of medical corporations based on the initial violation was unlawful and immoral. This debate continued in earnest until Thermo Fisher Scientific reached a settlement with Henrietta Lacks’s family in September of 2023, quelling public outcry.
Although the battle against Thermo Fisher Scientific has come to a close, the fight against unethical practices in medicine continues in Henrietta’s name. Her family plans to take on the other pharmaceutical companies associated with her cellular lineage, seeking restitution and ensuring that the medical violations she underwent never occur again. Henrietta Lacks’s case exists at the intersection of ethics and medicine, highlighting the importance of patient confidentiality and honesty from our physicians.
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-02494-z
https://osp.od.nih.gov/hela-cells/significant-research-advances-enabled-by-hela-cells/