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Henrietta Lacks

February 16, 2017

The HeLa cells controversy is back in the news.  We previously reported on HeLa cells here: http://blogs.asucollegeoflaw.com/lsi/2013/08/12/doing-the-right-thing-hela-comes-home/.

It was announced yesterday that Henrietta Lacks’ eldest son will be seeking compensation from Johns Hopkins University for the unauthorized and uncompensated medical use of his mother’s valuable cancer cells.  The elder Lacks claims that an agreement reached among certain family members and the National Institutes of Health in 2013 regarding use of the HeLa cell line is unenforceable — that he, as executor of the estate, never executed the 2013 agreement.  For its part, according to Andrea McDaniels, Johns Hopkins alleges it has not profited financially from discoveries made through the cell line.  The family, however, challenges this and claims that various entities have realized profits through the HeLa cells.  The lawsuit, once filed, may, therefore, name additional defendants.

The cells were key in the development of the polio vaccine and many modern scientific applications.