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Henrietta Lacks' family reaches settlement over use of immortal 'HeLa cells'

Slayven

Slayven

Never read a comic in his life
Moderator
Oct 25, 2017
93,447
www.cbsnews.com

Henrietta Lacks' family reaches settlement over use of immortal 'HeLa cells'

When Lacks' cancer cells were biopsied, doctors realized that instead of dying, her cells doubled every 20 to 24 hours.
www.cbsnews.com www.cbsnews.com

Lacks went to Johns Hopkins in 1951 for cervical cancer treatment. When her cancer cells were biopsied, doctors realized that instead of dying, her cells doubled every 20 to 24 hours.

They were nicknamed the "HeLa cells" and played a critical role in medical advancements. Despite having no permission from Lacks or her family, the cells were taken and are still being used for research in many areas including vaccines and cosmetics.
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ironic medical treatsments Black people struggle to get was built off the body of a balck woman. American racism is wild
 
onpoint

onpoint

Neon Deity Games
Verified
Oct 26, 2017
15,022
716
Glad they're getting paid. Why do I feel like it won't be nearly enough
 
Dalek

Dalek

Member
Oct 25, 2017
39,050
If anyone isn't familiar with this story-there's a movie on HBO Max called "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks". My daughter read the book this year and we all watched the movie. It is insane. We were all sobbing at the end. These people deserve every penny.

The story is an absolutely must read/must see.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lNyHL9xrzb4
 
SwampBastard

SwampBastard

The Fallen
Nov 1, 2017
11,081
There was a really good episode of RadioLab (back when they still did cool science-y content and not just human interest garbage) about her.

Radiolab Extra: Henrietta Lacks

One woman's medically miraculous cancer cells, and how Henrietta Lacks changed modern science and, eventually, her family's understanding of itself.
radiolab.org radiolab.org
 
Tracksuit Larry

Tracksuit Larry

Alt-Account
Banned
Jun 26, 2023
1,316
The HeLa cells were used in the development of the polio vaccine, along with treatments for cancer, HIV/AIDS, leukemia and Parkinson's disease. She died of cancer in 1951.

Her family only found out about the use of her cells decades later.
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I can't imagine the family got what they deserved because the company they settled with is still a company and not a bankrupt smoking crater in the earth, but I hope they got as much as they could, and then some, because if you'd asked me 10 years ago whether they'd get anything at all, I'd have sincerely doubted anything even remotely resembling "The right thing" would have gotten done.
 
Sho_Nuff82

Sho_Nuff82

Member
Nov 14, 2017
18,485
It's probably the most cited cell line in the world, I can't imagine the compensation could ever come close to what the family is really owed.
 

Gumshoe

Member
Oct 31, 2017
348
Dalek said:
If anyone isn't familiar with this story-there's a movie on HBO Max called "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks". My daughter read the book this year and we all watched the movie. It is insane. We were all sobbing at the end. These people deserve every penny.

The story is an absolutely must read/must see.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lNyHL9xrzb4
Click to expand...
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I borrowed the book on my library's recommendation a while ago and this is the first I'm hearing of a movie. Thanks for sharing.
 
Metanoia Prime

Metanoia Prime

Member
Oct 26, 2017
4,163
California
I've never heard of this person and the situation. How unique / rare is it that her cells doubled like that?

Very glad her estate / family is getting compensation for what was done, though!
 
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Nepenthe

Nepenthe

When the music hits, you feel no pain.
Administrator
Oct 25, 2017
20,886
Sho_Nuff82 said:
It's probably the most cited cell line in the world, I can't imagine the compensation could ever come close to what the family is really owed.
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Black people in general are owed trillions at this point. We are never going to get what's been past due.
 
Necromanti

Necromanti

Member
Oct 25, 2017
11,554
Metanoia Prime said:
I've never heard of this person and the situation. How unique / rare is it that her cells doubled like that?
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At the time she was biopsied, it was probably rare. Cancer cells growing at that rate in a dish is fairly normal (but some will grow slower or faster than others depending on the mutations they have), though we also have a better idea of how to do it these days. It was more rare for cells to keep growing and not die after a few days.

Some cell lines are especially fussy and require very specific growth medium, supplements at the right concentrations (like hormones), etc. while some require almost no effort at all to grow like crazy.
 
Tendo

Tendo

Member
Oct 26, 2017
10,457
I coteach a unit in Henrietta in my ap bio class with the ap English teacher. We start the year with it so we have been talking all morning.

About time. It won't be enough but at least it's settled now. Should be billions on billions and every person that gets a treatment derived from her cells should know her name and story.
 
Nacho Papi

Nacho Papi

Member
Oct 27, 2017
2,363
Side question. Might be a silly a but how could these cells continue to multiply if the host was deceased? Where did the cancerous cells get energy from to multiply?
 
Aurizen

Aurizen

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Oct 25, 2017
3,598
Philly
It's about time. I hope that family is paid so that their families and generations after never have to suffer or work again.
 
Necromanti

Necromanti

Member
Oct 25, 2017
11,554
Nacho Papi said:
Side question. Might be a silly a but how could these cells continue to multiply if the host was deceased? Where did the cancerous cells get energy from to multiply?
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They're grown in a dish or flask containing cell culture/growth "medium". It's basically a nutrient-rich broth providing the environment they need to grow.
 
Motorcycle Dork

Motorcycle Dork

Member
Jun 24, 2019
6,421
Family better receives monetary tonnes and tonnes.

White people be exploiting a black woman's body, and stole credit of her legacy in literally saving billions of lives.

ed: exploiting*, considering HeLa cells still being used today
 
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ryan13ts

ryan13ts

Member
Oct 28, 2017
2,108
Whatever they receive isn't enough. I watched a documentary about her story years ago, and some of her family in modern day were living in absolute poverty… meanwhile, God knows how many shitstains profited and lived in excess and comfort (along with their families) from their unethical profiting off her cells.

Knowing that the original people who stole/profited off of her, while her family suffered all kinds of hardships, will never face any consequences pisses me off to no end.
 
onyx

onyx

Member
Dec 25, 2017
2,535
Good, but I doubt it's enough. I heard about this years ago and it pissed me off.
 
Clay

Clay

Member
Oct 29, 2017
8,150
Tendo said:
I coteach a unit in Henrietta in my ap bio class with the ap English teacher. We start the year with it so we have been talking all morning.

About time. It won't be enough but at least it's settled now. Should be billions on billions and every person that gets a treatment derived from her cells should know her name and story.
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That's really cool!

I read the book over a decade ago, that's wild it took this long to resolve.
 
AvianAviator

AvianAviator

â–˛ Legend â–˛
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Jun 23, 2021
6,412
Wow! Never thought I'd hear this news. Shame it took so long.

I never finished the book, should pick it up again. Highly recommend it for both medical and black history.
 
LinguisticGoblin

LinguisticGoblin

Member
Jul 19, 2020
1,134
Learned about this a few years ago I think, was wild to me then that this was a real case and still is today. Glad the family are getting something at last for how this was done without her even being notified, let alone with her consent, but somehow doubt it will be reflective of the titanic profits that have been made off research this has enabled.
 

Deleted member 149904

Jun 12, 2023
713
Let me get this right. They used this black woman's cells for research, for decades and decades. But they've never gotten her consent or her families consent, and never compensated them.

Additionally, the treatments derived from her cells are denied to black people generally speaking but provided to white patients when they need it?

This sounds like a nightmare from a dystopian sci-fi novel. But then again, being black is being in a dystopian sci fi novel your whole life. Being black automatically makes your life harder no matter what your conditions are otherwise.

This irks me so much.We must do everything we can to put a stop to white supremacy and kill it until there is nothing left. We have to fight our whole lives against it in every corner of the world until it no longer exists.
 
behOemoth

behOemoth

Member
Oct 27, 2017
5,658
Slayven said:
Cause someone should have gone to jail. Folks made billions ontop of billions off of her
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She and her family fighting for her recognition should get all the compensation and more, but the biopsy and research was done scientifically motivated. The scientist who could cultivate her cells just send it to others freely. However, the worst part is that scientists back in the day were extremely racist and acted very unethical as long as they could achieve a breakthrough.
 

Deleted member 9241

Oct 26, 2017
10,416
I did a report on her for school in like, 1987.
 
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