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Family of Henrietta Lacks, whose HeLa cells uphold medicine, settles with biotech company (apnews.com)

submitted 1 year ago by Griseowulfin@beehaw.org to c/science@beehaw.org

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HeLa cells have changed the field of medicine and have led to multitudes of life saving innovations. Unfortunately, the donor, Henrietta Lacks, did not consent to the harvesting of the cell line, and until now, her and her family have not received compensation from companies that profited from products tested and designed with the HeLa cell line. Her family reached a settlement with the company that maintains the cell line for the industry.

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[-] NiklzNDimz@beehaw.org 19 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

This is such great news. I read Rebecca Skloot's book The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks which dug deep into the family to a degree I don't necessarily agree with. The generational poverty, racism, and countless other wrongs the family endured was laid out, and of course, it also included the internal family strife. Hopefully this settlement is a new start for the family.

ETA: corrected typo