![]() ![]() It was thought that the average person could not understand DNA so nobody bothered to explain in terms they could comprehend.Ĭould the family sue on the grounds that someone revealed Henrietta’s name and medical records? (They could, today.) And what about the statute of limitations?Ĭan one sell a lung or a kidney? How about cells? How about patenting them, if they are unique? Medical researchers didn’t explain well enough so the family could understand – was that common in the 50s? Probably so. Members of the family thought Henrietta would become a mouse-human or a clone. They were mixed with mouse cells and grown in the lab. Family members thought tests on their cells would determine if they had cancer or would develop it so they waited patiently for results that never came. Much like the rest of the country during these times.įor years after HeLa cells became so valuable, members of the Lacks family were asked for vials of their blood to determine if their normal cells had the same characteristics as Henrietta’s cancer cells. Some of her family never made it past fourth grade while others joined the military or were incarcerated or became addicts or attended graduate school or died as a teen in a mental institution (Crownsville, MD). ![]() Henrietta Lacks, however, was an African American from southern Virginia. Today, many members of the Lacks family cannot afford health care.Ībout Privacy or the Invasion Thereof – and a Question of EthicsĪfter a while, articles appeared about HeLa and someone called the woman Helen Lane or Helen Larson, or, in the 70s when I was in grad school, Helen Latham – all generally white women’s names. And should her family and descendants be proud of her place in history or should they have received money from the sale and distribution of her cell line to labs all over the world? Was this the case with Henrietta? It depends on how you look at it. HeLa cell lines were incredibly important to medical research (HIV drugs, etc.) but in the early 50s research was still being done on people, especially minorities, without their permission. Since scientific research is more ‘shared’ than other fields, HeLa cells were available at reasonable cost and were the first mammalian cells found to be ‘immortal’ (to be able to live outside the body) – chicken cells previously had been found to have this characteristic but humans are mammals and research needs to be done on them sooner or later. HeLa cells were soon in great demand in labs all over the world. But were the cells donated or taken (stolen) without her knowledge or the permission of her family? ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |