This is a question that’s really unique: is a cell, in it of itself, life? And so a guardianship of the cell really says that the cell owns itself, that the cell has rights. So I think it’s more of an uphill battle to look at ownership of the cells or to try and patent a cell. Ryssdal: We should say here, because it’s important: you, on behalf of the family, don’t seek ownership of these cells and this cell line but rather guardianship … explain that to me.īostick: Yes, there is some legal background that says you can’t really own a cell or something that has been disposed of from your body. It kind of just came to me that I should reach out to Ron Lacks, who is the grandson of Henrietta Lacks and see if there was anything I could do to help. And so, this was sort of right up my alley.

You’re supposed to be able to utilize the legal system to find justice. That’s not the way America’s supposed to work. Kai Ryssdal: Why does this case matter to you?Ĭhristina Bostick: You know, I am concerned about the exploitation of disenfranchised people in this country and how the law functions to disempower them from having a voice and from pursuing any concerns about their case. The following is an edited transcript of their conversation. She calls it creative litigation, and Marketplace host Kai Ryssdal discussed with her how it raises questions about what constitutes life. Many of them, including Lacks’ grandsons, haven’t seen any compensation or recognition as their grandmother’s cells rack up accolades and scientific discoveries. Now, they’re working with Christina Bostick, founder and managing director of Bostick Law Firm, who is trying to change the way we think about the cells’ autonomy by helping the cells sue for their own rights. According to Johns Hopkins, where doctors took the cells, the resulting “immortal” cell line, known as HeLa, has contributed to medical breakthroughs from research on the effects of zero gravity in outer space and the development of the polio vaccine, to the study of leukemia and the AIDS virus.Ĭonspicuously missing from some of the stories about the legacy of Lacks’ cells, however, is the story of what has happened to her descendants. The cancer cells were harvested from Lacks’ cervix without her consent in 1951.

You’ve probably heard the story of Henrietta Lacks’ cells, which spawned more than 17,000 patents, a bestselling book and a made-for-TV movie starring Oprah.

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