Imagine being the seed that germinates a billion dollar industry, and leads to a plethora of medical innovations and advancements, without granting informed consent or being compensated for your part in a movement that transmogrified the landscape of the medical world. Though one could ponder the ethical quandary delineated in such a hypothetical situation, this very event has already transpired. Henrietta Lacks, an impoverished African-American woman who suffered from cervical cancer, died in 1951 and was the unknowing seed, or in this case cell, that germinated the very tangible billion dollar medical industry created by her cell line. Dubbed “HeLa cells,” Lacks’s unwitting contribution has been utilized in over 74,000 medical studies, leading …show more content…
Though some reports claim that Lacks had signed an “intentionally vague” consent waiver, it is evident that the severity of what she was agreeing to was not conveyed. Due to this issue, consent has become a major point of controversy in the medical field. Previously, our world was one of medical paternalism, where doctors and medical treatment were viewed as authoritative figures, and the patients their obsequious subordinates. Therefore, patients like Lacks likely didn’t think twice about the ethical standards of their physicians, or their trustworthiness. Today, however, patients have taken charge and often dictate their care to a much larger degree. Ethical standards have become major points of concern in the medical board, including the vast development of The American Medical Association’s Code of Ethics, with one major development being informed consent. Maintaining the standards of informed consent ensures that potential cell donors understand both the altruistic benefits and the potential disadvantages to their decision. Had these standards been employed previously, stories of people like Lacks wouldn’t exist in the first place. Nevertheless, consent is merely one of the many issues that have been associated with tissue …show more content…
Numerous medical companies have been able to accredit cells, most notably the HeLa cells, for hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue. Conversely, the cell donors themselves rarely receive any of prodigious proceeds. However, as some have noted, the donations wouldn’t generate such revenue without the diligent work of the medical companies themselves. Yet, with such a high margin of profit, one could argue that it’s only fair that the donors themselves, as well as their descendants, should get a percentage of the proceeds. Harkening back to the story of Henrietta Lacks, one is quick to note that her descendants received none of the revenue generated from Lacks’s immortal cell line. In fact, her descendants could not even afford to buy into the very healthcare system that she revolutionized. Ultimately, it’s important to note that the medical companies themselves are primarily responsible for the results yielded from cell donations due to their rigorous work, though it’s quite evident that the donors themselves should receive a portion of the profits. Even still, other disadvantages to tissue collection linger throughout the practice of
The family first heard that Henrietta’s cells were alive and being sent around the world, twenty-two years after Henrietta’s death. After discovering that Henrietta’s cells were in circulation, the family began to blame John Hopkins for taking Henrietta’s cells without permission and commercializing the cells to make multi-million dollar industry, while her family was living in poverty without health insurance. The John Hopkins Hospital has made various statements stating that the hospital never received funds for the HeLa cells specifying that Gey donated all of his HeLa cells samples to fellow researchers. Therefore, the sole benefactors of the HeLa cells profits are the biotechnology companies, which sell vials of HeLa cells for up to ten thousand
In the book, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, by Rebecca Skloot, the author highlights the scientific advances of HeLa cells, as well as the personal setbacks of Henrietta Lacks’ family. HeLa is a commonly used cell line in laboratories worldwide and is so often referred to as “the cell line that changed modern science”. This line of immortal cells has helped advance science in ways beyond compare. HeLa has allowed cell testing, cell cloning, and the discovery of various vaccines, including the HPV vaccine. While HeLa has done wonders in the medical field, it has caused unrepairable damage among the Lacks family.
In 1951, the sickness of a poor African American woman named Henrietta Lacks -also know as HeLa- would go on to change the face of scientific research; without her consent. Henrietta Lacks went into John Hopkins Hospital in hopes of medical treatment, but instead her cells were unlawfully stolen from her and used for scientific advances in the world of medicine for the creations of the polio vaccine, cell cloning, vitro fertilization, and gene mapping. Long after Henrietta's death, Henrietta's family was forced to live a life of poverty without medical insurance simply because they could not afford it although their mothers cells had yielded billions of dollars due to its advances in the medical world. The scientific community and the media
Most people live in capitalist societies where money matters a lot. Essentially, ownership is also of significance since it decides to whom the money goes. In present days, human tissues matter in the scientific field. Rebecca Skloot, author of The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, shows how Henrietta Lacks’s cells have been used well, and at the same time, how they have been a hot potato in science because of the problem of the ownership. This engages readers to try to answer the question, “Should legal ownership have to be given to people?” For that answer, yes. People should be given the rights to ownership over their tissues for patients to decide if they are willing to donate their tissues or not. Reasons will be explained as follows.
At first glance, the harvesting of cancer cells from Henrietta Lacks ' tumor seemed like no big deal. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks reports many examples of violations of the Lackses’ privacy, such as the retrieval of her cancer cells, and being misinformed about her inability to have children after treatment. After Henrietta’s death, Skloot describes Mary Kubicek being asked to assist with Henrietta’s autopsy to retrieve more cells. Skloot describes Mary’s reaction, “When I saw toenails …I thought, Oh jeez, she’s a real person… it hit me for the first time that those cells we’d been working with all this time and sending all over the world, they came from a live woman. I’d never thought of it that way” (Skloot, 2010, page 91). When Mary is confronted with Henrietta’s humanity, Skloot shows that when doctors and scientists dissociate their work, their human subjects are at the cost. When morals come into play, everything changes and Skloot reinforces
The book The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot, was a nonfiction story about the life of Henrietta Lacks, who died of cervical cancer in 1951. Henrietta did not know that her doctor took a sample of her cancer cells a few months before she died. “Henrietta cells that called HeLa were the first immortal human cells ever grown in a laboratory” (Skloot 22). In fact, the cells from her cervix are the most important advances in medical research. Rebecca was interested to write this story because she was anxious with the story of HeLa cells. When she was in biology class, her professor named Donald Defler gave a lecture about cells. Defler tells the story about Henrietta Lacks and HeLa cells. However, the professor ended his lecture when he said that Henrietta Lacks was a black woman. In this book, Rebecca wants to tell the truth about the story of Henrietta Lacks during her medical process and the rights for Henrietta’s family after she died.
The novel, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, is written by Rebecca Skloot. This novel provides a real story regarding research using human tissue without patient’s consent. It gives the background of Henrietta Lacks and the achievements HeLa cells established to point out how fallacious it is for doctors to take the cells without asking. Through the unique pattern and devices, Skloot expresses her sympathy for the right of consent of medical research.
HeLa cells were one of the greatest medical inventions that came about for the scientific field and yet the woman behind this medical feat is not fully remembered and honored. Her cells and tissue were taken away from her without consent and more than that, she was exploited for being black and not questioning what the doctor was doing. Her family suffered through countless years of agonizing pain in which they were misinformed about where and what her cells were being used for. Yes, HeLa cells changed the way we view medicine today, but only at the cost of creating one of the greatest controversies of owning ones body.
"A Cell 's Life: The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks." Issues in Science and Technology 26.4 (2010): 87. Academic OneFile. Web. 11 Nov. 2016.
Ever-presently in the world there are occasions where research goes wrong, cell ownership reflects only selfishness and distrust for scientist, when they should be revered to the point where they would think of money. On the contrary, remarkable operations like the first successful adult human heart transplant by Christiaan Barnard would be complicated by tissue ownership in the instance where the patients are not able to speak, give consent. The issue of tissue ownership is a deep and vexing argument, but I find it that research in the name of humankind is more important than the "property" of one person.
Lacks lived in Virginia from childhood to marriage, until her and her husband, David, had to move to Maryland in search for work. In 1951, she was diagnosed with cervical cancer; concerned for her health, she went to Johns Hopkins to be diagnosed by doctors. After being probed and scraped and having her privacy waived aside, the doctors realized her condition and took particular interest in her cancer cells, which reproduced continuously. This kind of cellular division promised the possibility of immortality for humans. As a result, her cells were taken and used by scientists and doctors to make significant advances in the medical field; her cells live on today and continue to be the key to opening more doors to cure diseases and help sick humans. Despite the manner in which Ehrlich phrased it, Lacks’ cells were taken from her and used without her consent. Recognition years later counts for little when her and her family were awarded no money they desperately needed and, in a sense, were entitled to. Though Henrietta Lacks’ privacy was taken from her when her cells were used and passed around without her consent, some have tried to make it seem as though Henrietta was a consenting
Rebecca Skloot’s novel, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks told the story of the injustice done a a young African American woman, and her family. Henrietta’s cancerous cells were taken from her without her consent, and turned out to be immortal. They were sold all over the world for billions of dollars, while her family, struggling to put food on the table, did not receive a penny of it. Rebecca Skloot uncovers the hidden story of the HeLa cells, and provides a novel not only highly informational, but also with insight to the workings of science. This book outlines the process of scientific inquiry, reveals the contrary forces of altruism and profit that influenced HeLa, and the risks and benefits of profit guiding research as well as the obstacles faced when conducting research for purely altruistic reasons.
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks is a non-fictional novel dedicated to describing the life and experiences of a woman by the name of Henrietta Lacks who’s cervical cells became famous for a multitude of reasons. Henrietta was an African American woman born in the 1920’s who developed an aggressive form of cervical cancer and was treated by doctors at Johns Hopkins Hospital. Her infamous story began when doctors began treating Henrietta with radium and took tissue samples from her cervix without her knowing. Cancer researchers began testing Henrietta’s cells (labeled HeLa) and found that they, unlike many other human cells, multiplied at rapid rates and almost seemed to be “immortal” or never-ending. These cells were shared, sold, and researched
Ingram, David, and Jennifer A. Parks. "Biomedical Ethics." The Complete Idiot's Guide to Understanding Ethics. Indianapolis, IN: Alpha, 2002. N. pag. Print.
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