Episode 8 - Immortal (Part II)

In 1990, the Supreme Court of California ruled that patients do not have a right to a share in profits made from their discarded body parts. In part II of Immortal, we explore the legal and ethical implications of the HeLa story.

Also discussed: a new study reveals a reduced risk of head and neck cancers for men who have had the HPV vaccine.

Special thanks to Jonathan Skourletos for the audio production support.

If you enjoyed this episode, you might enjoy the following:

• The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks (2010) - Incredible book detailing the story of Henrietta Lacks, her cells, her family, and the broader context of Black Americans’ complicated history with medical institutions. This book was invaluable in putting together both HeLa episodes and is an absolute must-read for anyone who wishes to understand the story of Henrietta Lacks and her family in detail. Author Rebecca Skloot put years of research into this book, and has since supported the family of Henrietta in their pursuit of justice.

Episode Sources

1. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks (2010) - Rebecca Skloot

2. https://meetings.asco.org/abstracts-presentations/231759

3. https://osp.od.nih.gov/hela-cells/significant-research-advances-enabled-by-hela-cells/

4. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/6329740/

5. https://embryo.asu.edu/pages/moore-v-regents-university-california-1990

6. https://www.lifeblood.com.au/news-and-stories/stories/james-harrison

7. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hestat/maternal-mortality/2021/maternal-mortality-rates-2021.htm

8. https://msa.maryland.gov/msa/educ/exhibits/womenshallfame/html/lacks.html

9. https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2013/03/26/175351289/sequencing-of-hela-genome-revives-genetic-privacy-concerns

10. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2818206?guestAccessKey=1393cab2-41d6-473b-9252-0c23e2cb4f74&utm_source=For_The_Media&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=ftm_links&utm_content=tfl&utm_term=050124

11. https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/researchers-review-findings-clinical-messages-women-s-health-initiative-30-years-after-launch

12. https://safety.fsu.edu/safety_manual/supporting_docs/Understanding%20and%20Managing%20Cell%20Culture%20Contamination.pdf

13. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1676322/

14. https://tauruspet.med.yale.edu/staff/edm42/courses/ENAS_508_2019/Sessions/Session_4_Human_Experiments/nypost.com-NYCs%20forgotten%20cancernbspscandal.pdf

15. https://www.who.int/health-topics/poliomyelitis#tab=tab_1

16. https://videovault.wsu.edu/documents/2019/01/discovery-helabomb-dr-s-gartler-transcript.pdf/

17. https://iclac.org/wp-content/uploads/Chang-Liver_Case-Study_v1_3.pdf

18. https://safety.fsu.edu/safety_manual/supporting_docs/Understanding%20and%20Managing%20Cell%20Culture%20Contamination.pdf