Why is Henrietta Lacks Important?

Henrietta Lacks was a poor African-American raised on a tobacco farm in Virginia. After she died in 1951, medical researchers collected her cells. They named these cells HeLa cells. These cells changed the course of medical research. In fact, some people argue that most of the world’s population has benefited from research using HeLa cells. Visit almost any cell culture lab and you will find millions, if not billions, of frozen HeLa cells.

In biomedical research, HeLa cells are as important as lab rats and petri dishes. Lacks’ chromosomes and proteins have been studied in so much detail that scientists know their every quirk. But until recently, very few people knew of or acknowledged the contributions of Henrietta Lacks.

Did you know?

Today, there are trillions more HeLa cells growing in laboratories than there ever were in Henrietta Lacks' body!

How do HeLa cells work in biomedical research?

Scientists were studying human cells long before they started using HeLa cells. However, they had a lot of trouble keeping individual cell lines alive. A cell line refers to all the generations of cells produced from a specific culture of cells. Working with a single cell line allowed researchers to verify their results and build on previous research. But when all the cells in a line died, they had to start over with a new one.

Lacks’ cells were different. They provided researchers with the first immortal human cell line ever grown in a laboratory. Researchers originally took HeLa cells from an aggressive cervical cancer tumour. These cells never stopped reproducing. When given a constant supply of nutrients, they produced a new generation of cells in less than 24 hours.

HeLa cells grew so rapidly and so well that research could now be done much faster than before. As soon as scientists recognized their potential, HeLa cells went into mass production. They were produced at the world’s first cell factory. From there, they were made available to labs around the world.

In particular, HeLa cells have helped scientists better understand a variety of viral infections. Researchers infect cells with a virus like measles or mumps and observe how it affects them. Researchers have also been able to develop vaccines for infections such as polio and human papillomavirus (HPV). HPV can cause genital warts and cervical cancer. Researchers have also used HeLa cells in the search for cures for hemophilia, herpes, influenza, leukemia and Parkinson’s disease. HeLa cells have also contributed to: 

• the cancer drug tamoxifen
• Chemotherapy
• gene mapping
• in vitro fertilization.

The durability of HeLa cells has made them very useful for medical science. But ironically, this durability has caused some problems, too. Like other cells, HeLa cells can spread through the air in labs and outcompete other cells. This means that sometimes, scientists who think they are studying other kinds of cells are actually studying HeLa cells!

Did you know?

Henrietta Lacks' (HeLa) cells traveled in some of the first missions to space. Researchers wanted to see what would happen to human cells in zero gravity.

The HeLa cells ethical dilemma

HeLa cells have made many medical advances possible. However, their use raises many important ethical questions. Neither Lacks nor her family ever gave their permission for her cells to be taken. An article in Ebony magazine in 1976 featured a quote from her husband. He said, “All I remember is that she had this disease, and right after she died they called me in the office wanting to get my permission to take a sample of some kind. I decided not to let them.”

At the time, it was standard to take tumour cells for research without consent. But eventually, Henrietta Lacks’ family understandably became upset. There was a lot of medical research happening with HeLa cells. In fact, HeLa cells were part of a multimillion dollar industry. And for decades, her family wasn’t compensated or recognized for any of it.

Today’s standards for biomedical ethics are much stricter. People now have to give informed consent for all tissue donations. The donor or their next of kin must understand all the possible consequences related to their tissue donation.

In 2013, the Lacks family gained some control over how Lacks’ DNA can be used. She will also be acknowledged in future scientific papers that discuss research using her cells. The Henrietta Lacks Foundation now exists. This foundation supports her relatives and others who have contributed to medical science without their consent. 

Without Henrietta Lacks’ cells, the pace of biomedical research would have been much slower. Many of the treatments people take for granted still might not have been developed. As a result, HeLa cells have helped save countless lives. I believe this makes her the most important human being who ever lived. What do you think?