Family of Henrietta Lacks, Unwitting Source of HeLa Cells, To Get Some Control Over Genome

August 12, 2013 – Segment 2

Last week the National Institutes of Health announced an agreement with the family of Henrietta Lacks – whose cells were collected and used for research, without her knowledge or permission, by Johns Hopkins University over 50 years ago – that will finally give them recognition and some degree of control over how the genome of these important cells will be used in the future.

We are joined by Ron Lacks, Henrietta Lacks’ grandson, as well as Dr. Gloria Hoffman, professor of Biology at Morgan State University.

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Written by Marc Steiner

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