Rebecca Skloot’s “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks” provides an important perspective on consent with cell culture by examining the family of Henrietta Lacks. Should researchers be allowed to use cell samples for scientific research without patient consent? The knee-jerk reaction might be a resounding “No!” This topic is actually much more nuanced than that.

Henrietta Lacks was a Black woman from Baltimore who died of cervical cancer in 1951. During the treatment for her cancer, a sample of her cells was taken without her knowledge. These cells would later be cultured by Dr. George Otto Gey to form the famous HeLa (short for Henrietta Lacks) cell line. This cell line was the first and most prominent cell line to be immortal. 

HeLa cells have been used in numerous scientific discoveries. They helped scientists research how zero-gravity impacts human cells in space. They were crucial in developing the polio and COVID-19 vaccines. They have even been used to research leukemia and AIDS. Countless lives have been saved and improved because of research completed with HeLa cells. 

When looking at this information at face-value, it seems that culturing cells is great, but it is important to reiterate that Lacks never gave consent for this cell sample. Not only that, but her family never received any compensation until a recent settlement in 2023. Before that, they endured many years of chronic illnesses and often could not afford health insurance. To put this in another way, Lacks died before she ever got to see the impact her cells had on society.

The Lacks family filed suit against Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. in 2021, claiming that the company profited off of Lack’s cells unjustly. They settled in 2023, but the exact terms of this settlement are not available for the public.  

Some might argue that once that cell sample was taken, those cells are not really Lack’s cells anymore, since they were taken during medical treatment and would have otherwise been thrown away. Lacks was undergoing radium treatment for her cancer at Johns Hopkins. As part of her treatment, she was given a biopsy, during which a sample of her cancer cells was taken. At the time, it was routine for any cancer cell samples taken at Johns Hopkins to be sent to Dr. Gey for medical research. Lack’s samples were quickly seen as special due to their ability to continuously reproduce in the lab. 

On the other hand, it also seems reasonable for a patient to feel a sense of ownership over their cells, and some might argue for patients to have a seat at the table when deciding to take samples for culturing. 

All of these perspectives are scattered throughout Skloot’s book, which details the life of Lacks and her family members that outlived her. Skloot walks you through extensive details regarding culturing cells, public perception throughout the years regarding the HeLa line, and Skloot’s developing friendship with Lack’s daughter, Deborah, for about a decade of her researching process. 

What is the state of consent within cell culturing since Lack’s story has been brought to light? While it was not illegal in 1951 for Lack’s sample to be taken and used in medical research without her consent, that practice is now illegal. That being said, if that sample was taken during diagnostic procedures, researchers are not required to get consent to use those samples if your name has no connection to that particular sample, according to Johns Hopkins. 

The issue of consent within cell culture research is one that continues to spark discussions within the academic community, and likely will for years to come.