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Updated: May 2, 2026

Working with Human Tissues for Translational Cancer Research
Published on: November 26, 2015
Biospecimen research and the law
Timothy D Dye1, Jerry A Menikoff2
1Timothy D. Dye is a professor in the Departments of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Pediatrics, Dentistry, and Public Health, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, NY, USA.
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.
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