It’s been 75 years since Henrietta Lacks’ cells were taken without her consent. For decades, this Black woman remained a key contributor to modern medical research without anyone even knowing her name. Now, her family is still fighting for justice for Lacks… and it looks like they just received the greatest news yet.
Suggested Reading
2026 would’ve marked Lacks’ 103rd birthday. A DMV native, Lacks was diagnosed with cervical cancer in 1951 when she was only 31 years old. But while receiving treatment at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Md.– one of few hospitals willing to treat Black folks at the time– a sample of her cells was stolen without her knowledge, according to Johns Hopkins University.
Lacks was a mother of five whose large, malignant cervical tumor quickly claimed her life only months after her diagnosis. But little did she know her legacy would live on forever through her cancer cells. Researchers found her cells were resilient and could be reproduced indefinitely, according to the university.
These “HeLa” cells– combining the first two letters of Lacks’ first and last names– were later responsible for multiple scientific breakthroughs like the development of the polio vaccine and even COVID-19 vaccines, but it wouldn’t be until the 1970s when Lacks’ family would begin to trace her cells back to medical research.
According to Johns Hopkins, researchers began contacting the family to collect blood samples for genetic study without properly explaining the purpose. Decades passed as Lacks’ family continued to get answers and justice for her, but an official lawsuit against multiple pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies– namely Novartis and Thermo Fisher Scientific– in 2021, the Guardian reported.
In the 1950s, it was not illegal to take samples without a patient’s permission, according to the Associated Press. Still, the lawsuits finally opened up conversations about Black bodies being exploited, human rights and medical responsibility. In 2023, Lacks’ estate– with the help of civil rights attorney Ben Crump– settled with Thermo Fisher in an undisclosed agreement, per AP.
The family has scored yet another legal win against Novartis, a Swiss-based research company. Following a 2024 lawsuit against the company, the Lacks family and Novartis announced in a joint statement, “they were able to find a way to resolve this matter filed by Henrietta Lacks’ Estate outside of court,” PBS reported. Details of the agreement are not available to the public.
Justice for Lacks is long overdue. While the medical industry– and the rest of society– profited and benefited off of Lacks’ body, she laid in an unmarked grave. Now, her name lives on through various movies, documentaries and shows about her contributions to science.
Straight From 
Sign up for our free daily newsletter.