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WHO honors Henrietta Lacks, a Black American whose cells were taken without consent and used in vaccine research [washingtonpost.com]

 

By Adela Suliman, The Washington Post, October 13, 2021

Henrietta Lacks is set to be honored Wednesday by the World Health Organization in Geneva for her enduring contribution to medical science, more than 70 years after her cells were taken without her consent during a 1951 hospital visit in Baltimore.

Descendants of Lacks, a Black American, will meet with WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in Switzerland to acknowledge her legacy and “contribution to revolutionary advancements in medical science,” the global health body said in a statement.

Her cells, which have been reproduced billions of times for medical research, were used in developing the polio vaccine, medications for HIV/AIDS and breakthroughs for in vitro fertilization. The WHO also noted that the “cells are currently used in vital research for COVID-19 response efforts.”

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