Question

1. When Henrietta Lacks’ tumor was harvested and distributed, what relevant recommendations of the Belmont Report were followed or not followed?
   
2. Were Henrietta Lacks’ rights violated? If so, which ones? (Use the various international covenants we talked about on Monday to get some ideas for potential rights, but you are not limited to those).
   
3. If you were someone at Johns Hopkins today working to compensate the family today for not receiving any credit for the Lacks' contributions, what types of compensation would you consider? (Hint: money is not the only form of compensation).
   
4. How would you make the decision – i.e. what stakeholders do you take into account?

Answer 1

When cells from Henrietta Lacks’ tumor was harvested and distributed,the recommendations provided by the Belmont Report were not followed. The “Respect for Persons” aspect was completely ignored by the medical team. A portion of her cells from the tumor were harvested by doctors while she was under anesthesia during her stay at Johns Hopkins without her knowledge or permission. The most troubling aspect of this procedure is the fact that these cells were not harvested for the purpose of her treatment but simply for furthering medical research in general.The “Beneficiance” idea of the Belmont Report was debatably both respected and disrespected during the harvestation. By extracting these cells from Henrietta’s tumor, she was not faced with the direct impact of physical harm.But Lack's family could have potentially benefited exponentialy from the sale of her cells around the world to the tune of hundreds of thousands of dollars but they did not receive any such benefits and hence faced significant economic damage in retrospect. The significance of the HeLa cells to the field of medical research without publicc knowledge of their origins means that Lack's contributions were hidden and not recognized for a significant period of time.“Justice” has yet to be served for Henrietta Lacks’ family in this circumstance as they have not been compensated nor recognized for societzal benefits generated by her cells.

Henrietta Lacks’ rights were most definitely violated to a significant degree in terms of her well being and the financial security of her descendants.Henrietta's right of security was violated when the doctors, without permission, took cells from her tumor while she was under anesthesia.Lacks's family has been left without financial compensation or public recognition which is particularly haunting when we consider the fact that none of her family members have access to healthcare.

Johns Hopkins could compensate Lacks's family in several ways today:-

1)Provide free health care for her immediate descendants in perpetuity.

2)Publicly apologize to her family and name any further developments made using Lack's cells after her hence putting her name in the public sphere

3)Rename the cells from HeLa cells to Lacks's cells to accurately reflect their origins.