Recognizing the Legacy of Henrietta Lacks

by Ananya Pinnamaneni

October 31, 2023

Henrietta Lacks, a young black woman, visited her gynecologist in 1951 with complaints about vaginal bleeding. Upon examination, a large malignant tumor was discovered on her cervix. A sample of her cancerous cells that were retrieved in a biopsy were sent to Dr. George Gey’s tissue lab without her knowledge or consent. He had been collecting cells from patients for years, but his efforts were largely in vain since all the samples died shortly after reaching his lab. However, Lacks’ cells evaded this problem. Instead of dying off quickly, her cells doubled every 20 to 24 hours. 

Today, these extraordinary cells, known as “HeLa” cells, are used to study the effects of toxins, drugs, hormones and viruses on the growth of cancer cells without experimenting on humans. Beyond cancer, these cells have played a key role in helping scientists learn more about how viruses work and even contributed to the development of the COVID-19 vaccine. 

While these medical advances were crucial for saving millions of lives, attention must also be drawn to the racial inequities that Lacks’ story highlights. The hospital which she visited and from where her cells were nonconsensually taken was one of the only hospitals where black people were treated. On top of that, none of the companies that profited from her cells gave any of the money to her family. Instead, the medical community continued to repeat the same mistake of failing to ask Lacks’ family for consent as they revealed her name publicly, gave her medical records to the media, and even published her cell genomes online.

In attempts to make right what was done wrong in the past, some scientists have called for a reduction in the usage of HeLa cells in research, or even an end to it altogether. However, this is not what her family members want. They want her life and legacy to be recognized and celebrated. 

There is so much to her story that deserves to be known. She loved to cook, especially spaghetti. She loved to dance, sometimes holding one of her five children in her arms. She loved to dress up fancily, often wearing red nail polish. Such minor details may seem irrelevant, but they are significant for properly honoring Henrietta Lacks.

In 2010, Rebecca Skloot published The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, which provided a compelling look at Henrietta Lacks’ story and her impact on medical science as well as important bioethical issues with this situation. That book became the basis for the HBO/Harpo film by the same name, which was released in April 2017.

Efforts have certainly been made to make up for the injustice done to Lacks, but racial inequity continues to play a role in the medical world, and further advocacy is needed to eradicate this issue.