Henrietta Lacks was a woman whose cancer cells are the source of the HeLa cell line, the first immortalised human cell line and one of the most important cell lines in medical research, which have been used to study the effects of toxins, drugs, hormones and viruses on the growth of cancer cells without experimenting on humans. They have been used to test the effects of radiation and poisons, to study the human genome, to learn more about how viruses work, and played a crucial role in the development of the polio vaccine.
Nobody asked Henrietta Lacks for consent to use her cells in research in 1951 - and, shockingly, consent is still not always required in the United States today.
The story of Henrietta Lacks also illustrates the racial inequities that are embedded in the US research and health-care systems. Lacks was a Black woman. The hospital where her cells were collected was one of only a few that provided medical care to Black people.
#BlackLivesMatter movement for racial justice, and the unequal toll of COVID-19 on communities of colour - are compelling scientists to reckon with past injustices. Some have called for a reduction in the use of HeLa cells in research, or even an end to their use entirely. The argument is that, because the cells were obtained without Lacks's knowledge or consent (even though this was legal at the time), any use of them is unethical and perpetuates an injustice.
But that is not what many Lacks family members want. Henrietta Lacks has dozens of descendants, many of whom are still alive today.
Nobody asked Henrietta Lacks for consent to use her cells in research in 1951 - and, shockingly, consent is still not always required in the United States today.
The story of Henrietta Lacks also illustrates the racial inequities that are embedded in the US research and health-care systems. Lacks was a Black woman. The hospital where her cells were collected was one of only a few that provided medical care to Black people.
#BlackLivesMatter movement for racial justice, and the unequal toll of COVID-19 on communities of colour - are compelling scientists to reckon with past injustices. Some have called for a reduction in the use of HeLa cells in research, or even an end to their use entirely. The argument is that, because the cells were obtained without Lacks's knowledge or consent (even though this was legal at the time), any use of them is unethical and perpetuates an injustice.
But that is not what many Lacks family members want. Henrietta Lacks has dozens of descendants, many of whom are still alive today.