Biospecimen research and the law
Biospecimen research and the law

Biospecimen research and the law

Science. 2024 Aug 16;385(6710):695. doi: 10.1126/science.ads3190. Epub 2024 Aug 15.

ABSTRACT

In the well-known case of Henrietta Lacks, cells from her tumor were taken without consent and used more than 70 years ago to create the first immortal human cell line (“HeLa” cells). That event led to many scientific breakthroughs and to the debate about the ethics of consent and requirements for compensation. May 2024 saw two decisions by US federal courts-one related to Lacks-that could narrow the scope of research allowed on tissues obtained without consent and on nonidentified tissues, with implications for biomedicine.

PMID:39146400 | DOI:10.1126/science.ads3190