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New Delhi: In the US, the family of Henrietta Lacks, a black woman from Virginia who died of cervical cancer in 1951, has sued a biotech company for selling her cells, which doctors at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore called. was taken out without his consent.
Lax’s cells were taken from a tumor on her cervix that she had suffered from excessive vaginal bleeding when she went to the hospital for treatment. The cells were taken to see if they would multiply indefinitely for research purposes.
For the first time in history, cells inspired nearly 75,000 studies, helping to advance modern medicine, According to the World Health Organization (WHO).
The “first immortal line of human cells” named HeLa has been reproduced billions of times for medical research, and allowed for the development of the HPV vaccine, the polio vaccine, drugs for HIV/AIDS, hemophilia, leukemia and Parkinson’s. Is. Disease.
They have also been used to study Covid-19 vaccines.
Lacks died at age 31, eight months after he was first diagnosed with cervical cancer. Her family has sued Massachusetts-based Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. for reproducing and selling “stolen” cells for profit. It is now against US law to extract a patient’s cells for research without their consent.
“Indeed, black suffering has fueled myriad medical advances and benefits without any compensation or recognition. Various studies, both documented and undocumented, have perpetuated the dehumanization of black people,” reads the lawsuit filed on October 4. Is. It said the company was part of a “racially unjust system”.
On the same day, on the occasion of his 70th death anniversary, WHO honored Lax for his contribution to posthumous medical research.
“Respecting Henrietta Lacks, WHO recognizes the importance of reckoning with past scientific injustices and advancing racial equality in health and science,” WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said. “It is also an opportunity to recognize women – particularly women of color – who have made incredible but often overlooked contributions to medical science.”
Contributions were hidden
HeLa cells are part of an immortal cell line, which According To science direct, “are cells that have been artificially manipulated to proliferate indefinitely and, thus, can be cultured over many generations”.
According to Henrietta lost the initiative, More than 50,000,000 metric tons of HeLa cells have been distributed worldwide for medical research.
But the scientific community kept Lax’s identity a secret, and no one in his family knew about his contributions until 1973, 20 years after his death, when his name was leaked to the press.
“My mother’s contributions, once hidden, are now being honored for her global impact,” said Lawrence Lacks, Henrietta Lacks’ eldest son, at the WHO awards ceremony.
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