In The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, Dr. George Gey retrieved Henrietta Lacks’ cancerous cells without her as well as her relatives’ consent in order to find a true immortal cell line that can benefit the public as well as the medical industry. Her relatives were furious that the doctors have taken cells from her without their consent after knowing about it, and that the doctors and scientists didn’t give them any money from their incomes after successfully developing Henrietta’s cells into the world’s first immortal cell line and selling them worldwide. But without this development, our world wouldn’t be that medically advanced now, enhanced my vaccines and medicines brought upon by HeLa cells. So the major issue is,
Which one is more important, privacy or innovation?
Her living relatives were quite furious talking about Henrietta’s cells, as the scientists didn’t send them any money associated with the selling of HeLa cells worldwide, which didn’t make their lives better, and they collected the cells without any informed consent, which is now required before any operations. “Why didn’t they say anything to the family? They knew how to contact us! If Dr. Gey wasn’t dead, I think I would have killed him myself.” (210) Indeed, in the Lackses’ point of view, the believed that privacy should be more important than innovation as this discovery would have meant tons to their family, in terms of consent and income. The discovery, if the Lackses have approved beforehand, would have made them richer and for them to live a more prosperous life now!
Now, informed consent is taken more seriously than before, requiring all doctors and scientists to gain the patient’s approval before continuing on with treatment or experiment. I was diagnosed with having a disease that required me to draw blood multiple times to check the hormonal levels regularly. Well, in order for physicians to do so, they would need to have a prescription written by a doctor confirmed by both myself and my parents. That’s a kind of informed consent too. Without it, the physician just simply cannot draw blood from me as this procedure can harm the patient if not handled and carried properly.
Who also values privacy the same as innovation? Apple.
As your phone and devices contain information that you don’t want to let others know, maintaining privacy is very crucial. But unfortunately, no one other than Apple has handled users’ privacy properly and very seriously. Inside the operating system, Apple has implemented a vast amount of features that protect the users’ privacy, while others like Google and Facebook simply don’t care that as much as innovation. However, Apple also maintains its lead in technological innovation, just like Google, Facebook, and others, by releasing numerous hits like the iPhone and Apple Watch, while deeply concerned about privacy, more than others do.
Who says that privacy can’t be treated as serious as innovation?
Work cited
- Skloot, Rebecca. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. Crown, 2010.
- Paves, Heiti. Nuclei, microfilaments and membrane particles in HeLa cells. Shutterstock, https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/nuclei-microfilaments-membrane-particles-hela-cells-336230588. Accessed 20 January 2020.
- Wongsaita, Soonthorn. Nurse preparing injection to patient’s arm for blood drawing sample for blood test the health examination in hospital. Shutterstock, https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/nurse-preparing-injection-patients-arm-blood-726781507. Accessed 20 January 2020.
- “Privacy on iPhone — Simple As That — Apple.” Youtube, uploaded by Apple, 26 October 2019, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Py0acqg1oKc.
- O’Flaherty, Kate. Apple Issues New Blow to Facebook and Google with This Bold Privacy Move. Forbes, 6 November 2019, https://www.forbes.com/sites/kateoflahertyuk/2019/11/06/apple-issues-new-blow-to-facebook-and-google-with-this-privacy-move/. Accessed 20 January 2020.
Hey Eric,
Henrietta Lacks is an example where racism had played a role in society, where inequally and social injustice occurs. For instance, when she was in the hospital moaning in discomfort, the doctors noted them down as no physical issues. Do you think that it is okay to violate Henrietta’s privacy? In my opinion, I believe that it is certainly wrong for them to use her cells without her consent. On the other hand, I do believe that it is okay to use it to benefit the entire human race. This is because the benefits gained from the cells just outweigh the consequences.
Hi Eric,
You stated that the invasion of Henrietta Lacks’ privacy was more a bigger consequence than the benefit of her cells literally saving the world. I politely disagree with your statement because many diseases that could have killed many people have been eradicated due to her cells being used to experiment on the vaccines created. I totally agree with your point that invading someone’s privacy is very wrong and should never happen, but I simply believe that the cost of one woman’s privacy and saving millions of lives is a price anyone would pay.