Those little purple dots may be pretty, but what you may not realize is that they played a big role in advancing the science of cells. Those of you who have read The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks should recognize those pretty purple dots as HeLa cells.
If you aren't familiar with the story read this quick synopsis...
http://www.bookbrowse.com/reviews/index.cfm/book_number/2383/the-immortal-life-of-henrietta-lacks
Here are some discussion questions pertaining to the book:
1. In "Who Told You You Could Sell My Spleen," it says that in the 1990s the Supreme Court of California made the following rule: "When tissues are removed from your body, with or without your consent, any claim you might have had to owning them vanishes. When you leave tissues in a doctor's office or a lab, you abandon them as waste and anyone can take your garbage and sell it."
How do you feel about this ruling? Do you agree with it? If not, why?
2. Did you get the impression that Henrietta was treated any differently than a rich, white woman would have been?
3. Deborah says, "But I always have thought it was strange if our mother cells done so much for medicine, how come her family can't afford to see no doctors? Don't make no sense." (pg. 9)
Should the family be financially compensated for the HeLa cells? If so, who do you believe that the money should come from? Do you feel the Lackses deserve health insurance even though they can't afford it? How would you respond if you were in their situation?
2.
ReplyDeleteI don't think she was treated any differently. I think they treated her a little better than they usually would have, but not extremely. I honestly think if she would have got more help, she probably could have been saved.
1. I feel like you should own your tissues whether they're in or out of your body. Only can someone take them and sell if the person it came from gives permission. And the person must give consent for them to be removed.
ReplyDelete1.
ReplyDeleteI for some part agree with this statement. I agree that when you leave them behind knowingly or not they are no longer a part of you so therefore they are "fair game." However, I do find it unethical and very unprofessional for one to remove a sample of tissue without gaining the approval of the patient first. So therefore I guess you would say I agree with it for the most part, but have some issues with it.
Also, Mrs. Mickle actually told me about a NPR interview she heard about a man who had patented either his whole body or specific body parts so that his physicians could not collect samples from these areas without gaining his consent and I believe she said he had put a fee in his patent so it cost his doctors as well...so how might this impact rulings such as that of question number 1.
This is from Courtney Hamm.
ReplyDelete2. I believe if Henrietta had been a white women, she would have been treated differntly. It is a known fact that Henrietta was treated differently becauce of her race. Just by her having her treatments at John Hopkins shows the racial profiling during the days of Henrietta. She would have received better treatment and a more [ethical] procedure/approach. It would have been viewed absured for a white lady to have scars as Henrietta did. There would have been "justice" for the wrong treatment giving and the unethical process. She had a disadvantage from the begining, the time she went into the hospital, and for her survival, just because she was an african-american women.
From Kristen--
ReplyDeleteQuestion 3:
Considering that Henrietta Lacks’s cells were taken without permission, I think that her family should be financially compensated. Seeing as it was doctors who took her cells without consent, I believe that the money should come from the medical field. Looking at the progression made in health science because of Henrietta’s cells, and again because they were taken without consent, I do feel that the Lackses deserve health insurance even though they can’t afford it. This could be a form of compensation to go along with the financial portion of it. If I were in the Lackses position, I would want money and health insurance for what happened with Henrietta’s cells. It wouldn’t be as much of me thinking “look at what her cells have done, I deserve it,” as it would be me simply wanting repayment for doctors taking what isn’t theirs to take, without asking.
2) I believe that if Henrietta were a rich white woman, sh would have been treated differently. They did say an awful lot about how they separated the blacks from the whites. They had separate rooms, separate fountains, separate physicians, and they had separate degrees of care. If Henrietta would have been a different race and had a different occupation, she would have received better care and lived longer than what she did. There's also the fact that she chose not to get as much care as she should have gotten in the first place.
ReplyDelete2) In my opinion, Henrietta would have definitely been treated differently if she was a rich white woman. The story took place a long way back where the whites and blacks were still separated by hospitals and neighborhoods. She would have probably gotten much better care and her family would have perhaps been informed as well. But since her cells were so important, I think they were a bit hesitant with treating her as bad or maybe a little friendly, but I still believe she would've gotten better care if she were Caucasian and rich.
ReplyDelete1) I disagree. The cells or tissues are still the person's property even if they are removed from the body. They come from the person so doctors should get consent from the one the cells came from. Cells are not just "waste" or "garbage". They are part of a human body.
ReplyDelete1. I happen to agree with what Ethan said. I do believe that a doctor should ask for consent before removing any tissue from a patient, but once they have gotten consent, the doctor should be free to do what he wants with the tissue. If there is an opportunity to do something with this tissue and have medical advancements, then why not give your tissue to someone who might be able to do something extraordinary?
ReplyDeleteThis is from Sarah Downing.
ReplyDelete2. I agree that Henrietta would be treated very differently if she were a rich, white woman. She would have been treated more thoroughly and would have money to pay for a more expensive surgery that could help her life. Also, if she were white, her cells would probably not be taken without her knowledge and she would be better educated on what the doctors were doing to her.
1. I both agree and disagree with this ruling. I agree that if you willingly allow a doctor to take a sample or you give a sample then that is fair, but taking what is not willingly left is not. Taking cells left on surfaces or strands of hair that may have come out is wrong, because that person isn't willingly giving out that piece of their identity. An example of this was if you used the bathroom and they came through and collected a stool or urine sample to see if you were taking drugs or what your nutritional intake was. Also if you go into the emergency room and your hand has somehow been cut off and they take it, would you allow them to just keep it and do experiments on it? Or would you rather them take it and try to reattach it or just get rid of it rather than have them make money off of your misfortune? Well back to the point, I believe that doctors can take "pieces" of your body if you willingly give them, but not if you do by accident.
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ReplyDelete2. Did you get the impression that Henrietta was treated any differently than a rich, white woman would have been?
ReplyDeleteYes, I believe that she was treated different because of her race but there were other reasons why she was treated unfairly as well. She was disregarded and not even treated like a human, more like some sort of test "subject." It mainly because of her race, the fact that she was a woman,she wasn't rich, and because she was uneducated school wise and didn't know about the tests and the systems that the doctors were running on her. She trusted them to do what was right by her which was sort of naive on her part,which in reality, you could not blame her because when you go to any physician you go with the hopes of believing that they have your best interests at heart. She believed the doctors had some moral conscious about her health but sadly they did not.
Destiny Price-
ReplyDelete#3. The family should be compensated for the use of their mother's cells.THe researchers should have to pay for the cells since they use them. They should put a little tax on the cells and that tax would be money that goes to the family's insurance. If I was in this situation, I would be sueing the researchers. If yall are using my mom's cells, I should get something out of it.
1. I feel like it depends on whether you give consent or not. If the patient KNOWINGLY leaves behind tissues, then of course they're abandoning it and they no longer have a say in medics or researchers do with it because they said it was okay. On the other hand, if tissue was taken from a patient without them knowing, that's like a violation of privacy. The doctor may not know about that patients religious views no whether they'd be comfortable with their tissues being used.
ReplyDeleteHenrietta wasn't treated any differently than a rich,woman because she did recieve the treatment. However, carcinoma in situ was incurable. Her race did not play a huge decisive factor and all the money in the world would not have saved her.
ReplyDelete1. I do not agree, whatsoever. If you gave consent, sure, but if not, its not like disposing them by leaving them.. because you were unaware of it. If abything, the owner of the tissues should be entitled to monetary cimpensation if their tissues amount to anything.
ReplyDelete1. I don't think it's wrong for researchers to take cells or tissue without consent, as long as the identity of the patient is protected. There is some concern regarding the genes in tissue that can connect the patient with the tissue and which could lead to privacy/identity problems. But other than that, I think that if the doctor who is smart enough to make money off of something that is considered waste deserves the profit fully.
ReplyDeleteFrom Mrs. Green:
ReplyDeleteInteresting stuff re: ownership and fair use of parts of the body left behind in the doctor's office/hospital. Patient's rights and informed consent laws are tighter now than they have been, but there are still gaps. Perhaps we should get a medical ethics speaker in here to discuss this with us! Also, I really like Tiffany's comment on moral conscience in the medical field. What exactly does the Hippocratic oath mean personally to those who promise to uphold it? Another thing to ask professionals!
I think she was treated very differently than a white women would have at the time. If Henrietta would have been white I believe she would of gotten more information about what they were planning on doing with her cells. I thought the doctors believed that there was no point in informing Henrietta of this because she would have not understood anything they said, all why because she was black. Its really awful to think that just because of the color of your skin people may think you are dum or stupid, and not only that but that your life may be seen as less valuable.
ReplyDeleteI agree that it is wrong, but in this particular case, there should be no argument for the simple fact that look what has happened with the HeLa cells. I mean say the doctor did ask for permission. Would there be HeLa cells today? Changing the world?
ReplyDeleteI believe that a person owns the right to there tissues unless the docters are given ownership other wise its like me a police officer,someone of authority, going in to your house and taking items out side and claiming its mine just because I took it out
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