The family of a black woman in the US whose cervical cells were taken without her knowledge have reached a settlement with a biotechnology company they sued in 2021, their lawyer has said.
Tissue taken by doctors at Johns Hopkins Hospital from Henrietta Lacks’ tumour before she died of cervical cancer more than 70 years ago became the first human cells to be successfully cloned.
Reproduced infinitely ever since, HeLa cells have become a cornerstone of modern medicine, enabling countless scientific and medical innovations, including the development of the polio vaccine, genetic mapping and even Covid-19 vaccines.
But despite such a significant impact, the Lacks family was never compensated and had accused the leaders of Thermo Fisher Scientific of making billions of dollars from a racist medical system.
Doctors harvested Mrs Lacks’ cells in 1951, long before the advent of consent procedures used in medicine and scientific research today, but lawyers for her family argued that Thermo Fisher has continued to commercialise the results well after the origins of the HeLa cell line became well known.
The settlement agreement came after closed-door negotiations that lasted all day on Monday. Several members of the Lacks family were involved in the talks.
Lawyer Ben Crump, who represents the Lacks family, announced the settlement, saying the terms of the agreement are confidential.
“The parties are pleased that they were able to find a way to resolve this matter outside of court and will have no further comment about the settlement,” Mr Crump said in a statement.
HeLa cells were discovered to have unique properties. While most cell samples died shortly after being removed from the body, her cells survived and thrived in laboratories.
This exceptional quality made it possible to cultivate her cells indefinitely – they became known as the first immortalised human cell line – making it possible for scientists anywhere to reproduce studies using identical cells.
The remarkable science involved – and the impact on the Lacks family, some of whom suffered from chronic illnesses without health insurance – were documented in a best-selling book by Rebecca Skloot, The Immortal Life Of Henrietta Lacks, and Oprah Winfrey portrayed her daughter in a film about the story.
Mrs Lacks was 31 when she died and was buried in an unmarked grave. A poor tobacco farmer from southern Virginia, she was raising five children when doctors discovered a tumour in her cervix and saved a sample of her cancer cells collected during a biopsy.
Johns Hopkins said it never sold or profited from the cell lines, but many companies have patented ways of using them.
In their complaint, Mrs Lacks’ grandchildren and other descendants argued that her treatment illustrates a much larger issue that persists into the present day of racism inside the US medical system.
“The exploitation of Henrietta Lacks represents the unfortunately common struggle experienced by black people throughout history,” the complaint reads. “Too often, the history of medical experimentation in the United States has been the history of medical racism.”
Thermo Fisher argued the case should be dismissed because it was filed after the statute of limitations expired, but lawyers for the family said that should not apply because the company is continuously benefitting from the cells.
Henrietta Lacks’ cells have transformed research and contributed to advancements in science and medicine.
While these cells continue to benefit millions across the world, they were taken without the consent or knowledge of Ms. Lacks and her family. pic.twitter.com/CWzA6kNNMf— Senator Ben Cardin (@SenatorCardin) July 29, 2023
In a statement posted to its website, Johns Hopkins Medicine officials said they reviewed all interactions with Mrs Lacks and her family after the 2010 publication of Skloot’s book.
While acknowledging an ethical responsibility, it said the medical system “has never sold or profited from the discovery or distribution of HeLa cells and does not own the rights to the HeLa cell line” while also acknowledging an ethical responsibility.
Mr Crump, a civil rights lawyer, has become well known for representing victims of police violence and calling for racial justice, especially in the aftermath of George Floyd’s murder.
Mrs Lacks’ only surviving child, Lawrence Lacks Sr, lives to see justice done, grandson Alfred Lacks Carter Jr said. Now 86, Lawrence Lacks was 16 when his mother died.
“There couldn’t have been a more fitting day for her to have justice, for her family to have relief,” Mr Carter said. “It was a long fight — over 70 years — and Henrietta Lacks gets her day.”
Last week, US senators Chris Van Hollen and Ben Cardin introduced a Bill to posthumously award Mrs Lacks the Congressional Gold Medal.
“Henrietta Lacks changed the course of modern medicine,” Mr Van Hollen said in a statement announcing the bill. “It is long past time that we recognise her life-saving contributions to the world.”
