case study Henrietta lacks and Hela cells STUDENT HANDOUT 1.1a HeLa Cells Case S

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case study Henrietta lacks and Hela cells STUDENT HANDOUT 1.1a HeLa Cells Case Study A: Henrietta Lacks and Hela Cells Henrietta Lacks died when she was 31 years old in a segregated hospital ward for "colcreds" in Baltimore, Maryland on October 4, 1951. Lacks was a poor, black woman from an uneducated family who had worked in the tobacco fields in ,Virginia aimost all of her ife. She married young and had five children Soon after the birth of her youngest child in 1950, Henrietta dscovered a lump in her body. A doctor at a free dlinic ward for colored people examined her lump and the dagnosis was cervical cancer. The doctor performed a routine medical procedure to colect tissue samples from her cancerous turmor At the time, it was common for doctors to send tissue samples to research facilities so that cels could be studied to learn patients were muth less strict than they are today Henietta' doctors did not inform her about what they were doing or get her permission for the tissue collection, though they did get consent from her husband to perform an autopsy after her death more about many diseases. The rules for getting informed consent from On the same day that Henrietta passed away, Dr. George Gey lpronounced "guy"1, a leading researcher who had been trying to establish the successful growth of a stable human cell line, appeared on television to present his contribution to the fight against cancer. Dr. Gey introduced to the world the first successfully grown human cell line, which he termed Hela" in honor of the human patient who had unknowingly donated to the cause-Henrietta Lacks. As Dr. Gey was presenting his discovery, scientists all over the world were being given Hela cells for free to conduct The Hela cell line became an essential resouce for medical research in many labs worldwide. Soon many companies began mass producing Hela cells for commercial research use, reaping milions of doliars in profits that would never have been possible without Henrietta's cells. Hela celils have since been used in many ways, including testing vaccines, learning about genetics, research into cancer and AIDS, and developing drugs. it took decades, and the help of a journalist, for the family to learn whst had happened to their mother's celis. Hgnrietta was buried in an unmarked grave for almost 60 years, until 2010. Her headstone has now been marked with her name and an inscription that reads "in loving memory of a phenomenal woman, wite, and mother who touched the ives of many. Here lies Henrietta Lacks (0lela). Her immortal cells will continue to heip mankind forever. Henriettas farmily never received companies In fact, since Henrietta was never informed that her tissue had been collected, for more than 20 years after her death, her family was unaware of the robust industry Henrietta's cells helped launch or her "immortal" status any part of the billions of dollars that Hela cels brought (and continue to bring) to many The Lacks' family and children are still economikally disadvantaged. Many of Hennietta's descendants can't afford health5 insurance or treatments that have been made possible by direct work with the Hela cell line. Deborah, the fourth of acks' children, describes the situationc "Truth be told, I cannot get mad at science, because it helps people live and rd be a mess without it. But I won't le. I would Ike some health insurance so I don't got to pay all that money every month for drugs my mother's cells probably helped make. Autopsy: An examination conducted on a dead body to determine the cause of death Cervical cancer: Cancer of the cervix, which is the lower, nanow end of the uterus Human cell line: A continuously dividing set of cels used in medical neanch thst are derived feom a single human ce informed consent: A process that outines required elemrents of research particpation, inckuding its roks and potential benefits, to help someune deide whesher to participate An informed consent form is used to convey essential inlormation and is signed by the participart if he or she decides to join the study Tnsue sample: Bodily Buids ie.g, blood or saliva) or tissue (e g, cells, skin, bone, or muscle) for use in HUMANS IN RESEARCH 23 10

Explanation / Answer

1. They come up with successful growth of a stable human cell line. Still lot of research lab are using HeLa cell for cancer research.

2. They not informed the patients or permission to collect the tissuse sample.

3.Directly - Henrietta Lacks and Dr. George gey
indirectly - many companies

4. No, not everyone aware of the all aspects of the research.

5. Hela cells are helped to the society for lot of cancer reserach and drug discovery.

6. In this case the poverty people are getting health insurance for their treatment.

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