HeLa to a new world where progress in science matches dignity for patient
The story of Henrietta Lacks highlights the exploitation of marginalized individuals in scientific research. Her cells, known as HeLa, revolutionized medical science but were taken without consent, leaving her family unaware of her contribution for decades. Recent legal settlements have brought some acknowledgment and closure to her family's long struggle for recognition and justice.
- ▪Henrietta Lacks' cells, known as HeLa, were taken without her consent in 1951 and became crucial for medical research.
- ▪Lacks' family remained unaware of her contribution to science for nearly 25 years after her death.
- ▪A recent settlement with Johns Hopkins acknowledged the harm done to Lacks and her family.
Opening excerpt (first ~120 words) tap to expand
They also serve science, who are not scientists. One of science’s most egregious instances of epistemic dominance, where a powerful institution overrode and exploited a marginalised individual - was Henrietta Lacks – donor of the famous, immortal HeLa cell line. Cells extracted from her, without permission, transformed medical research, but her story was ignored, erased and obscured for decades. The scientific world that generously used this unique cell line for successful research into virology, vaccines, genetics and even cancer care, but the erasure of the donor of those cells was historic in its completeness. Lacks, an African American tobacco farmer from southern United States, sought treatment at the ‘coloured ward’ in Johns Hopkins Centre for cervical cancer, way back in 1951.
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Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at The Hindu — Top.
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