Immoral Use of HeLa cells

           Everyone has been to the doctor’s office, had some type of surgery, or has gotten blood drawn for a test.  It is rare to question these things because they are normal, reoccurring things in today’s society but when you have something removed from your body, whether it is during a surgery or when blood is drawn, do you ever wonder where your excess body parts go?  Have you ever wondered if hospitals or doctors’ offices have closets full of removed body parts and tissues stored in little jars?  It is rather scary to think about but sometimes your body parts, tissues, or cells are used in research without your knowledge.  This happens all of the time and has created great controversy in the medical field, raising the question of morality.  Is it ethical for research to be performed on someone’s cells, organs, or anything that came from their body without their full knowledge and consent?  Although consent forms are needed in today’s society, most people do not fully read the document they sign, giving consent for researchers to use their cells, blood, or organs.  Whether a consent form is given or not, the questions of ownership and morality arise.

            The story of Henrietta Lacks was just one of several where the use of her cells were used for research without her consent.  Henrietta Lacks was a poor black woman

Dr. George Gey

residing in Virginia, in a town called Turner Station when she noticed that something was irregular with her body.  She was sent to Johns Hopkins Hospital because it was one of the only hospitals at that time to accept colored people.  She was diagnosed with cervical cancer and preceded to receive radium treatments at the hospital.  This was an old method of treatment where a tube of radium was placed inside of her to kill the cancer cells.  When she was receiving her treatment, a biopsy of her tumor was taken without her knowledge.  The biopsy was then sent to George Gey’s lab, where it was discovered that Henrietta’s cells continued to divide at a rapid pace (Skloot, 2010).  “Gey named the cells “HeLa cells”, in honor of their source’s name, but claimed them as his own discovery, and spent the rest of his life profiteering from them.  This is when the first ethical dilemma arises; Henrietta Lacks had no idea that a sample of her tumor had been taken and sent to George Gey, and that her own cells would be used as a basis for medical research for decades to come. Her husband David knew that a sample had been taken, but was told that it was to see if the cancer was hereditary, and that it might help his children if the cancer struck again. Despite being told this, David Lacks never heard from the research team again. There is a question then, of whether appropriate consent was given” (Kirkham, 2009).  Although in this time, no legal consent was needed to take specimens and perform research, this practice could still be considered unethical.  In this particular case, it is unethical even though consent was not legally needed, simply because Henrietta’s family had a right to know what was going on but were kept in the dark for several years. 

           I personally believe that what happened to Henrietta and her cells was unethical, despite the fact that consent was not legally needed at this time.  If the scientists tried to conceal the identity behind HeLa, they obviously felt that they had something to hide.  Also, the fact that they made billions of dollars off of someone else's cells doesn't seem right to me.