Question

Henrietta Lacks signed a consent form that said, “I hereby consent to the staff of The Johns Hopkins Hospital to perform any operative procedures and under any anaesthetic either local or general that they may deem necessary in the proper surgical care and treatment of:_____________” (p. 31). Based on this statement, do you believe TeLinde and Gey had the right to obtain a sample from her cervix to use in their research? What information would they have had to give her for Henrietta to have given informed consent? Do you think Henrietta would have given explicit consent to have a tissue sample used in medical research if she had been given all the information?

Answer 1

The consent describes only about the surgery and the type of anaesthesia not about taking any sample for research purpose.According to the consent it is not legal of taking a tissue sample for a research without patient knowledge today. But it was not the condition during 1950 where the procedure, diagnostic tests ,biopsy were taken without any prior informed consent to the patient nor their relative.

It is the duty of the providers to inform regarding the exact procedure to be done on the patient,exact anaesthesia type and biopsy if needed and their use for research purpose.

Patient usually believes the healthcare providers and even place them in place of an Almighty as they save lives.So providing a detailed information will not restrict the patient from giving consent if used for a research purpose and they could benefit others also.