Immortal cells: Henrietta Lacks’ family settle lawsuit over HeLa tissue harvested in 1950s

Henrietta Lacks’ cells enabled huge advances in medical science, and the cell line is still being used in research institutes worldwide.

But they were taken without consent.

Ms Lacks’ family never received any compensation, and have fought for years to get justice for the “stolen” cells.

The details of the settlement reached recently with Massachusetts-based Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc have not been made public.

Ms Lacks, a 31-year-old mother from Baltimore, Maryland, began experiencing pain in her abdomen and abnormal bleeding in 1951. She was examined by gynaecologists at Johns Hopkins Hospital, who discovered a large mass on her cervix.

Without informing her or asking for permission, doctors sent a sample of her tumour to a lab for medical research before treating her for aggressive cervical cancer.

But, while nearly all cell cultures died quickly in the lab, cells taken from Ms Lacks continued to multiply and didn’t age, making them “immortal”.

The cell line, called “HeLa” after Ms Lacks’ first and last name, was sent to research labs around the world. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), HeLa cells have led to the creation of the polio vaccine and advancements in HIV, cancer and infertility research.

But the same properties that made the cells a scientific miracle, also made them lethal. Months after her diagnosis, she died from cancer at just 31 and was buried in an unmarked grave.

It was not until decades later that the Lacks family discovered what had become of her cells.

Civil rights lawyer Ben Crump, who represented the family in the negotiations with Thermo Fisher, said the procedure done by doctors left her in pain at the end of her life.

He said the mistreatment she received is similar to experiences suffered by other black Americans who have sought help from US doctors.

“The exploitation of Henrietta Lacks represents the unfortunately common struggle experienced by black people throughout history,” according to the lawsuit that led to Monday’s settlement.

“Too often, the history of medical experimentation in the United States has been the history of medical racism.”

At a press conference on Tuesday – on what would have been Ms Lacks’ 103rd birthday, Mr Crump said both sides were “pleased” with the settlement.

“I can think of no better present… than to give her family some measure of respect for Henrietta Lacks, some measure of dignity for Henrietta Lacks, and most of all some measure of justice for Henrietta Lacks,” Mr Crump said.

Thermo Fisher tried several times to have the case dismissed due to a statute of limitation expiration.

But lawyers for the Lacks family said that the limitation had not been reached because the cells are still being replicated.

“We believe that every time they regenerate or profit off of Henrietta Lacks’ genetic materials [that it] starts the statute of limitations to accrue again,” Mr Crump had argued.

“Not only were the HeLa cells derived from Henrietta Lacks, the HeLa cells are Henrietta Lacks,” he said.

In 2021, the WHO held a ceremony to commemorate the many scientific breakthroughs made possible by Ms Lacks.

“What happened to Henrietta was wrong,” said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus at a special ceremony in Geneva, Switzerland.

“Henrietta Lacks was exploited. She is one of many women of colour whose bodies have been misused by science,” he said.

“She placed her trust in the health system so she could receive treatment. But the system took something from her without her knowledge or consent.”

Last week, Maryland’s delegation to the US Senate introduced a bill to posthumously award Ms Lacks the Congressional Gold Medal.

“Henrietta Lacks changed the course of modern medicine,” Senator Chris Van Hollen said in a statement.

“It is long past time that we recognize her life-saving contributions to the world.”