The legacy of Henrietta Lacks, an African-American woman whose cells were used without her consent for groundbreaking medical research, continues to reverberate through the realms of science and ethics.
Recently, a US biotechnology company, Thermo Fisher Scientific, reached a settlement with Henrietta Lacks' family, acknowledging the historical significance of her immortal cells and the need for ethical considerations in medical research, as reported by ScienceAlert.
Civil rights attorney Ben Crump, known for representing the families of George Floyd and other Black victims of police violence, played a crucial role in filing a lawsuit on behalf of the Lacks estate in 2021.
On Tuesday, which would have marked Henrietta Lacks' 103rd birthday, Crump announced that the family and Thermo Fisher Scientific had reached a confidential settlement.
The Life of Henrietta Lacks
Henrietta Lacks's cells were taken without her knowledge or consent and became one of the most important cell lines in medical research. Born on August 1, 1920, in Roanoke, Virginia, Henrietta Lacks lived a relatively short life and passed away on October 4, 1951, at the age of 31.
In January 1951, Henrietta sought medical attention at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland, for vaginal bleeding.
During her examination, a small sample of her cervical cancer cells was taken by a researcher named Dr. George Gey without her knowledge or informed consent. Those cells, which were later named "HeLa cells" using the first two letters of her first and last names, turned out to be highly unique and exhibited a remarkable ability to continuously divide and reproduce outside the human body.
Unlike other human cells at the time, HeLa cells could be easily cultured and propagated in the laboratory. This made them invaluable for medical research, as they provided scientists with a consistent and unlimited supply of human cells for experiments.
They were used to study various diseases, test the effects of radiation and toxic substances, develop vaccines, and even contribute to the development of in vitro fertilization techniques.
The significance of HeLa cells led to numerous medical breakthroughs and scientific advancements, but for many years, the identity of the cell donor was unknown to the wider public.
Henrietta Lacks and her family was never informed about the use of her cells for research, and they did not receive any financial compensation or recognition for their immense contribution to science.
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The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
In the 1970s, the story of Henrietta Lacks and the origin of HeLa cells became widely known after the publication of the book "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" by Rebecca Skloot in 2010.
The book shed light on the ethical issues surrounding the use of human cells for research without informed consent and brought attention to the Lacks family's struggle for recognition and control over the use of Henrietta's genetic information.
Her life was also transformed into an HBO movie starring Oprah Winfrey, who also served as an executive producer, in the role of Deborah Lacks, Henrietta Lacks' daughter. The film shed further light on the ethical and racial implications of utilizing Henrietta Lacks' cells without her consent and brought her story to a wider audience.
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