Two relatives of the late Henrietta Lacks, Veronica Spencer (a great-granddaughter) and Mrs. Shirley Lacks (daughter-in-law of Henrietta Lacks), share the story of their family’s journey through the scientific and medical research accomplished through the use of Henrietta’s cells, the HeLa cell. Author Rebecca Skloot and Henrietta’s daughter Deborah explored the life of Henrietta, which resulted in Skloot’s book, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks.
The Lacks Family,
The Lacks Family are direct descendants from Henrietta Lacks, a cervical cancer patient whose biospecimens were used without her consent to create immortal cell lines now known as HeLa cells. The impoverished Lacks Family, with no knowledge of the cell lines or their use in biomedical research, had no opportunity to understand or benefit from the potential commercial applications of the biospecimens. Since the publication of Rebecca Skloot’s The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, the Lacks Family has spoken to audiences about their family’s experience both as research participants and as participants informing and directing research and policy.
Ms. Veronica Robinson and Ms. Shirley Lacks will be speaking with us about the legacy of their family’s experience in biomedical research and its potential impact on participation and ethics in this modern era of precision medicine.
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