Henrietta Lacks was a young woman working on a tobacco farm in Baltimore. Despite her welcoming and lovey-dovey nature, as Cootie described her (Skloot, 2011, 74), Henrietta suffered from cervical cancer and passed away after doctors could not cure her even after administering radiations. It is in this process that her doctor, Dr George Gay, discovered that her cells grew endlessly and she extracted tissues from her tumour (Skloot, 2011, 41). The cells were sent around the world and used in researches that resulted in formidable discoveries and the cell line HeLa from Henrietta and Lacks.
Notably, neither Henrietta nor her family profited from the use of her cells even though her cells made millions and now billions. This showed a lack of appreciation and is the reason why individuals and doctors should profit from taken cells. When assessing whether Henrietta would have agreed to have her cells taken and her family compensated, it is necessary to look into the issues from diverse perspectives. In the end, prerequisite procedures should be used when taking cells from an individual, and if anything, attention should be brought to ensuring that the process does not upset the dignity or cause anguish of the individual, their family or any other involved stakeholder at any point in time.
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Whether Individuals Should Profit From Their Cells
For one, everyone deserves independence, and it is due to this that each person has a DNA attached to themselves. The issue of cell ownership is related to many other ethical dilemmas that have embattled the medical fraternity. First, individuals should profit from their cells because it is their possession and, therefore, their right to decide what to do with them. This is in the same way that an ear belongs to a person and it is their responsibility to take care of them, so should their cells.
Medics should allow individuals to profit from their cells because it is a way of showing appreciation for their contribution. A sample of Henrietta’s tumour was first handled by Dr George Gay who for a long time had been looking for aggressive self-replicating cells to use in cancer research. When he found out that Henrietta’s cells fitted this narrative, he secretly took them from her and sent them around the world, and this contributed to significant discoveries as many people such as Carrey went on to win prizes in researches. As one would imagine, the medical fraternity should have been courteous enough to, at least, recognize her family if not Henrietta himself in their researches. This showed a level of ignorance and disregard for the subject’s contributions. In this respect, individuals should benefit from their cells as an appreciation of their willingness to advance existing knowledge.
The idea of having one’s cells flying around and making profits without their inclusion is not only ignorance on a financial front but also detrimental to the psychological well-being of the person. If you are the owner of the product, it is just right that you are included in the transaction. In this respect, an individual should profit from what they consider to be their own including cells. It is, however, important to note that when an individual is asking for a too high price, negotiations between interested parties can be carried out to arrive at a definitive understanding.
Should Doctors Profit from Other Individual’s Cells?
Doctors represent an essential part of the society whose role is to save lives by treating and ultimately healing diseases. This brings to light their critical role in treating not only patients but also research that will facilitate the discovery of various factors such as new vaccines and medicines. Admittedly, doctors even put considerable effort when they research with another individual’s cells, and it is imperative that they should benefit from them. They should, however, only take an individual’s cells with their consent. Similarly, they should not profit from them without the subject’s permission .
It is necessary that doctors also benefit from other individual’s cells by being critical stakeholders of the process. For example, researchers who worked on HeLa cells which were the name given to Henrietta’s cells were transported to various places around the country. Doctors and researchers spent countless hours peering through microscopes in a bid to unravel the mystery and use any gathered knowledge to solve current medical challenges. As a result of this, doctors should benefit from their efforts. Otherwise, why should one invest their crucial resource, time, only to give all their profits to another party?
In the end, it is only right to say that despite an individual having an otherwise “potential cell”, they could not do much about it without the help of doctors. When doctors manage to profit from the cells, it is necessary to point out that this is a double edge sword, where no one would feel short-changed. Noticeably, a question a rises as to what should be the maximum level or share that a doctor should profit from a cell. This is a tough dilemma that can only be answered by weighing on the interests, preferences, and perceptions by both parties especially the individual where the cell was extracted from . Doctors should not view tissues that offer medical breakthroughs as points of making exorbitant profits. Instead, such gains should serve the purpose of appreciation for their work. It is in this regard that doctors should profit from other individual’s cells but in a limited proportion and with the consent of the individual.
Henrietta’s Perspective about the Taking of Her Cells
The case of Henrietta presents worrying but yet exciting emotions in the reader. When reading Skloot (2011), it is not hard to notice why Henrietta Lacks comes out as a firm but normal human being with general worries. When Skloot asked Courtney to tell her about Henrietta, she said, “just as soon as you talk to the family and they say it’s okay. I don’t want any more problems. And I don’t want Deborah to get sick over it again.” (Skloot, 2011, 69). Such a comment paints a grim picture on whether Henrietta would have agreed to the taking of her cells. Notably, it is vital to dissociate the family’s emotions from Henrietta as a person.
“She just lovey dovey , always smilin , always takin care of us when we come to the house. Even after she got sick, she never was a person who says ‘I feel bad and I’m going to take it out on you.’ She wasn’t like that, even when she hurtin . But she didn’t seem to understand what was going on. She didn’t want to think she was gonna die. (Skloot, 2011, 74).
Cootie, Henrietta’s first cousin, said these words . If anything, it is evident that Henrietta was helpful not only to people close to her but to others as well. It is due to this kind of attitude that she would have agreed to have her cells taken. This is not to say that Henrietta would have accepted just because she was nice to everybody. Henrietta Lacks would only have provided consent for her cells to be extracted if she knew that they would be used to advance the greater good of humanity as in medical research. Anyone would be forgiven for arguing that even though Henrietta would have been willing to allow her cells to be extracted for medical purposes, much of her decision would be influenced by whom she would consult. This is a probable reason. However, Henrietta comes out as a person who stood by her word although she gave considerable attention to the views of those around her. Considering she was in agony and staring at death, she would have chosen to die having contributed to humanity through her cells. In the end, Henrietta would have provided consent for her cells to be taken had she been asked.
Whether The Lack’s Family Should Receive Compensation for Henrietta’s Cells
The case of Henrietta has brought much hype in the tissue ownership and use. If anything, the Lacks family should be compensated for the use of Henrietta’s cells. As Skloot (2011, 9) comments, “We must see in every person a universe with its own secrets, with its own treasures, with its own sources of anguish, and with some measure of triumph.” This is something that Henrietta was denied . Admittedly, the Lacks family has been denied their treasure and identity. After facing anguish after her death, the family moved on without having a share of the proceeds that their kin was making for other individuals. Therefore, because Henrietta belonged to the Lacks family, it is only right that they are compensated and recognized in the same way that she would have been had her consent been provided before taking her cells.
It is not hard to notice what agony the family has faced after years of accepting Henrietta’s death. Choosing to use Henrietta’s cells for medical experiments without involving her family was a ticking time bomb. The discovery that the cells of a diseased person have been used for decades in experimental research would be damaging to any family. Throughout the book, Skloot recognizes that Deborah Lacks, who was Henrietta’s daughter has been suffering as a result of the continued enlightenment about how her mother’s body was used without either of their family’s consent. From a humane perspective, the family should afford the best life whereas Henrietta could not afford health insurance (Skloot, 2011, 16). By compensating the Lacks family, this would be a token of appreciation to them. In the end, taking the cells without their consent was damaging enough. Notably, one should keep Skloot’s words in mind, “To me, it was not only about the woman but what that does to a family” (Skloot, 2011, 14). Through this enlightenment, one cannot help but realize that the Lacks family should receive compensation for Henrietta’s cells.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the case of Henrietta Lacks and the unwitting use of her cells for research and advancing profits is a saddening but equally enlightening affair. Notably, individuals should profit from their cells because just like any product, they are the owner and it is, therefore, necessary that anyone who seeks to use them appreciates and incorporates them in the transaction. Doctors should, also, profit from other individual’s cells although this should not be viewed as a lucrative business opportunity but a mode of appreciation. Judging by Skloot’s extensive discoveries on the personality of Henrietta, she would have provided consent for her cells to be used if she viewed as a gift to humanity. It is because she was not consulted that the Lacks family including Henrietta’s daughter, Deborah, have been suffering after the discovery that their mother was alive all around the world. Therefore, the Lacks family should be compensated accordingly. In the end, Henrietta’s case provides a distinct view of how in any case, consent and recognition are vital when seeking to take cells from an individual.
Reference
Skloot, R. (2010). The immortal life of Henrietta lacks . New York: Broadway Books.
