Summary: The Immortal Life Of Henrietta Lacks

Patient Privacy and Consent Hinders Medical Advancements

In the medical world, many disagreements revolve around the idea of patient privacy and consent. Some say it is an unethical act to not inform a patient on research that will be done on their cells. I say without informing the patient and avoiding possible risks of not being able to conduct life-saving research, many discoveries would be made. Consent for certain things would hinder advancements, and create a gap in medical development and progress that could possibly save someone’s life. Research is very significant, and can not be done without the use of cells and tissues. It is very critical to find cells that can be tested on, and once these cells are found, they are vital to keep.

One came from her tumor, and one came from healthy cervical tissue. These tissues were given to Dr. George Gey, who then began observing and testing on her cells. These cells began growing and growing, and millions of HeLa cells were provided to labs and doctors around the nation. Many studies were conducted and many breakthroughs were made with the use of these cells. In the novel, “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks”, it says, “Within days they found that HeLa was, in fact, more susceptible to the virus than any cultured cells had ever been.”(Skloot 95) Soon after that discovery, the cells were tested on, and the development for the poliovirus vaccine began. Imagine if Henrietta’s doctor did ask for her consent, and she would have said no? What if she kept her cells? The removal of some of her cells from her body caused no harm to her. It did not affect her in any way. She had no idea it even happened. Although some argue that this seemed unfair to Henrietta, she was not impacted. Lives were saved with that poliovirus vaccine, and it would not have been accomplished without the

John Moore was diagnosed with hairy-cell leukemia, a deadly cancer that filled his spleen with malignant cells. Moore had surgery to remove his spleen, and signed a consent form allowing his doctor, David Golde, to dispose of any severed tissue. Moore still kept in contact with Dr. Golde to get treatment, but without his awareness, Golde began collecting tissues and blood cells so he could market them to other doctors. Looking back at the book, “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks”, it says, “They [Moore’s cells] also carried a rare virus called HTLV, a distant cousin of the HIV virus, which researchers helped to use create a vaccine that could stop the AIDS epidemic.”(Skloot 202) Moore’s cells only helped further the investigation of the AIDS vaccine. Although Moore had no knowledge of this cell line many researchers were using, he helped do something to benefit the human race, and that risk of not being able to do that, is not a risk doctors should be