
Henrietta Lacks - DavidSJ
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henrietta_Lacks
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vikramkr
We still use HeLa cells in the lab today. They're great models for testing
adeno associated virus infectivity. It never feels right that we're using
these cells at my company to do research with potential commercial
applications but while a lot of people will make money off of license fees etc
is we succeed, the family of the original cell donor won't. At last with HeLa,
if I recall correctly, the cells themselves weren't heavily monetized, but
there are some cases of cells late down the line where the patient didnt see a
penny, but the researcher patented/made proprietary the cell line and charged
significant license fees for it. That strikes me as even more questionable.

I wonder what the ethical right thing to do is in the case of, for example, an
induced pluripotent stem cell line, or an immortalized line from a patient
with a particular genome we want to study. We pay for the license for the
immortalization process or stem-cell induction process, but we dont really pay
for the genome, even though the reason we spend thousands of dollars
immortalizing that particular cell line is because that patient has a disease
we want to study and cure, and we want cells with that same genetic sequence
to study.

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pixelbreaker
I read "The immortal life of Henrietta Lacks" a few years ago, really
fascinating book. Highly recommend it.

