With every new medical advancement seeing its way in the 21st century, it goes without question that significant research has greatly improved the future of healthcare to unfathomable lengths. Every vaccine developed, every viral remedy you’ve endured, preventative tests like STD and cancers, literally everything we know about the current day biological cell is thanks to the discovery of stem cells. But, how did we get here?
Well, Black History Month truly would not be complete without mention of Henrietta Lacks: the real mother of stem cells and the unassuming messiah of modern medicine.
An Unjust Discovery
The story of her stem cell contribution originates back to 1951 when 30-year-old Henrietta was diagnosed with stage one cervical cancer and paid a visit to the Johns Hopkins Hospital. The status Johns Hopkins Medicine promised included quality accessible care to all patients, but due to the anti-black agenda that polluted the healthcare system during this time, Henrietta was not met with the total privilege of this status quo that you’d expect from one of the nation’s most renowned hospitals. This was unfortunately the experience met by so many other female minority Americans at this time, and still continues to be a systemic issue in the U.S. healthcare system – just to a lesser degree.
Despite having to navigate through microaggressions that littered the 1950s healthcare system, Lacks eventually received radiation therapy for her cervical cancer, but with an unsuspecting clause. Johns Hopkins had a trick up their sleeve as an attempt to exclaim the broader narrative of racial superiority amongst lower-class patients: the unjust control of privacy and patient autonomy. In bouts of her radiation therapy, scientists at Johns Hopkins collected swabbed samples of Henrietta’s cancer cells for the purpose of non-consensual research.
In doing so, the team at Johns Hopkins uncovered something remarkable: unbeknownst to Henrietta, her cells contained a mutation never seen before in the history of medicine – the ability to regenerate, or to multiply without any manipulation. Coined “HeLa” cells by researchers, these cells were seen as the biggest discovery goldmine for the future of medicine, as their regenerative properties later unleashed generations worth of studies that have shaped the way modern medicine works today.
But, all at the expense of violating Lacks’ privacy.
Racial Inequality in Systemic Healthcare
In the early 1950s, a developing America hadn’t yet established the need for government regulations on research and autonomic privacy for especially marginalized communities. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act wasn’t out yet to protect patients. Therefore, when it came to black women, most of these patients were made subjects of the “latest medical testing” without prior knowledge nor the right to privacy. In the case of Henrietta Lacks, not only did the HeLa cell discovery create a larger discussion for the medical field, but the immoral practice also brought to light the issues of systemic racism and the injustices that needed critical deconstruction.
In the same year that the HeLa cells had been discovered, Lacks eventually died from health complications due to her cervical cancer. Leading up to her passing (and even after), neither Lacks nor her family were ever made aware of the discovery and the potential that would emerge from it. In fact, it wasn’t until over 20 years later that the Lacks family would finally learn about the existence of HeLa cells.
During the 1970s, medical publications involving HeLa cell studies eventually saw their way to the public eye. This was how Deborah Lacks, Lacks’ daughter, would go on to embark on a decades-long journey regarding her mother’s life-changing contribution to the medical field and the immoral practice that fueled it.
In familiarizing ourselves with the HeLa cell breakthrough, while it’s important to acknowledge their essentialism to medical development, it’s even more critical to address that such a discovery had only been given a platform through means of unethical practice and exploitation of a disadvantaged demographic. The Lacks family, despite giving way to one of the most financially and socially lucrative industries, never received compensation for Henrietta’s cells. Moreover, the HeLa discovery raised debates about the commercialization of HeLa cells during a time of detrimental healthcare for racial minorities.
Since these concerns have been brought to light, Henrietta’s descendants have been in countless years-long negotiations with numerous institutions regarding the future autonomy of HeLa cells and social compensations of proper representation. Some of these institutions include: the National Institute of Health (NIH), the EU Molecular Biology Lab (EMBL), and, of course, Johns Hopkins University. Through these negotiations, the Lacks family hopes to bring attention and dismemberment to the systemic racism of healthcare systems and receive justice for Henrietta.
The Future of HeLa cells
Henrietta Lacks will forever remain immortalized in the progress of every new medical advancement. I mean literally, her stem cells possess the ability to regenerate and are still used for medical development almost a century after her passing. Since their discovery, HeLa cells helped contribute to significant research and remedies for Polio, Parkinson’s Disease, HIV/AIDS, leukemia, and COVID-19, among so many other health anomalies.
Following the most recent discussions concerning the Lacks’ family efforts, things like public awareness, ethical guidelines of autonomy, and proper representation of HeLa cells going forward have all been heard and implemented amongst participating research companies.
Additionally, in 2010 the family proudly launched “The Henrietta Lacks Foundation,” intended to help advocate her contribution to the history of medicine, while also providing her family with financial and social compensation for the mark she’s left on the world.
So, whenever you decide to go in for your next flu shot, don’t forget to pay your homage to the woman responsible for it all: Henrietta Lacks.
To learn more about the Henrietta Lacks Foundation, click here.