In 1951, Henrietta Lacks, a 30-year-old African American woman, was diagnosed with cervical cancer at Johns Hopkins Hospital. Unique characteristics of her illnesses gave her cells the ability to divide continuously, essentially making them “immortal.”

Without her knowledge or permission, researchers took samples of her cells and with them created the immortal HeLa cell line. These cells have contributed to major medical discoveries, including the polio vaccine and work related to cancer, AIDS, cell aging, and even very recently in COVID-19 research.

For the most part, Lacks has not been credited for her role in those discoveries, and her family has not benefited from the billions of dollars in pharmaceutical profits obtained partly through the use of her cells.

Today, harvesting tissue or organs from a dying patient without consent is not only considered unethical but also illegal, regardless of whether such an act could save other patients’ lives.