Jessica Vargas

Mr. Kelly
Class 3A
Dec 07, 2015
Draft #4
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
Have you heard of informed consent? This is a process for getting
permission before conducting a healthcare intervention on a person. Unfortunately, in this
essay I will explain an example where this rule was not followed. The Immortal Life of
Henrietta Lacks by Skoot talks about a poor young black woman, Henrietta Lacks, who
was diagnosed with cervical cancer at Johns Hopkins Hospital. Her cells were taken
without her knowledge during an exam to develop the first immortal cells line. The cells
were called Hela, and it became one of the most important tools in medical research.
Henrietta and her family were never informed about the achievements in the medical
field by using her cells. Although Hela cells were bought and sold by millions, the Lacks
family never received anything from doctors. Do you always thoroughly read consent
forms before signing them?
First of all, Henrietta signed a consent that said, I hereby give consent to the staff
of the Johns Hopkins Hospital to perform any operation procedures and under any
anesthetic either local or general that they may deem necessary in the proper surgical care
and treatment of:__________. It is clear that she did not give her permission to Telinde
and Gey took her cells because they did not give her an informed consent about their
intention to experiment with her. The doctors did not have the right to obtain a specimen

from her cervix to use in their research because the statement explained that she
authorized any process under anesthetic, but it never explained her that doctors took
tissue samples for research and possibly for profit. Although she signed the consent, for
her it was a foreign language. If doctors really wanted to give her an informed consent to
take her cells, they would have explained to her about their purpose. They would have
given to her all information step by step about the procedure and what they were going to
do, and what they intended to do with her cells after. I think that if the doctors explained
all the benefits for humanity that the experiments with her cells could bring, maybe she
would have accepted without the need to do behind her.
Second, throughout history we have seen cases that the informed consent was
avoided as patients approval did not matter. This medical practice is unethical and illegal
because none of the patients were actually compensated for their damages and abuses. In
the book the author show something that we as patient dont know. On page 89 Skloot
wrote, Though no law or code of ethics required doctors to ask permission before taking
tissue from a living patient, the law made it very clear that performing an autopsy or
removing tissue from the dead without permission was illegal. In other words, the
consent from living patients does not matter because there is no law that forces doctors to
avoid taking patients tissue and conducting experiments with them. Doctors know that
they cant receive any punishment, so they perform illegal research protected by law. This
reminds me of an experience in my mothers life. When she had colon cancer, the doctors
removed part of her intestine without her knowledge. Instead of first trying other
treatment knowing that her cancer was not at an advanced stage, so it still had cure. When
she knew about here surgery, she tried to sue because the procedure could lead to

problems in the future to have to live with half an intestine. The doctors said there are no
laws prohibiting them trying from save a life regardless of irreversible damage that they
may cause the patient.
In conclusion, patient should take the time to read the consent form before signing
because it is a long text, and it is a foreign language for many. Patients also trust in the
doctors criteria. I believe that is strictly necessary to read the informed consent to avoid
any abuse from the doctors