The case of Henrietta Lacks serves as a living reminder of both hypocrisy and abuse created by systemic racism. Henrietta Lacks was black mother living in Jim Crow era Baltimore and dealt with racial segregation. On January 29, 1951, Lacks went into John Hopkins hospital because of a “knot in her womb” that persisted after giving birth to her son. The hospital itself was the only one in her area that would treat black patients and even then would only treat them in the “colored” ward. John Hopkins Hospital has become notorious for unethical research methods and cases of malpractice, Lacks of course being one of the most notable cases. 

During the checkup, Lacks’ doctors observed an abnormal tumor in her cervix and diagnosed her with cervical cancer which was technically incorrect as Lacks’ was retroactively re-diagnosed with adenocarcinoma. It was a common mistake made in medical circles at the time and treatment wouldn’t have differed. Their failure to correctly diagnose, while a common issue, speaks to the incompetence many of Lacks’ doctors displayed. Without her informed consent, Lacks’ doctors extracted some cells for research without informing her of their decision. Lacks’ doctors openly denied her the right to oppose or support their research on her body. What is truly shocking is that this kind of behavior was a common practice at the time. While the doctors at John Hopkins conducted research and cemented their spot in medical research history, Lacks spent the following eight months in despair before she finally died on October 14, 1951. 

The extracted cells were found to grow at an exponential rate, often doubling within 24 hours. This had never been seen before and was believed to be full of promising cancer research, the line of cells was christened “HeLa” after the woman they were stolen from. John Hopkins hospital allegedly did not profit or gain any financial compensation for the cells and reportedly gave them to multiple labs around the country for free. One lab in Russia was shut down when the cells grew and contaminated a lot of research. Although there was no reported revenue, “HeLa” has appeared in numerous medical patents and genetically modified versions of the cell line are worth $10,000 (Truog et al. 2012). HeLa cells have also been used to study the long term effects of space travel on the human body with scientists finding that cells divide faster in zero gravity.

Lack’s family received no compensation of any form despite the progress being made by Henrietta’s cells. They weren’t even aware any cells had been extracted for decades after the initial procedure. In the years since, the story of Henrietta Lacks has been subject to a debate on ethics and medical malpractice. While major strides in cancer research have been made thanks to the study of HeLa cells, they were obtained unethically and without the knowledge of Lacks. Some believe that the ends justify the means but what if it were them? What if a couple of white doctors removed YOUR cells without your knowledge and became successful off of YOUR cells while your name was forgotten by history for decades? All the while you and your family receive NO form of compensation.Henrietta Lacks would one day receive justice and her surviving family would become aware of her unwilling contribution. 

Eternal life: A mother, lost to her family years ago, unwittingly left a legacy that changed science.  (2010, Feb 07). New York Times (1923-) Retrieved from http://ulib.iupui.edu/cgi-bin/proxy.pl?url=http://search.proquest.com/historical-newspapers/eternal-life/docview/1458372460/se-2 

Truog, R. D., Kesselheim, A. S., & Joffe, S. (2012). Paying Patients for Their Tissue: The  Legacy of Henrietta Lacks. Science, 337(6090), 37–38. http://www.jstor.org/stable/41585193