Saturday, March 23, 2013
Medical Reimbursement
In class we talked about whether or not the Lacks family should receive compensation for the medical breakthroughs that came about as a result of Henrietta's cell line. I feel that they do not deserve compensation but maybe as a good gesture maybe the medical bills should have been taken care of so the family didn't have to worry about them. David "Sonny" Lacks spoke last May at the California Center for the Arts in Escondido. He said himself that he feels the family should not be compensated for his mothers cells being taken. He felt that the family should have been informed that the cells were being taken, what they were being taken for, and the intent of the research. The only reimbursement he feel the family should have received is for the cells being sold to labs all over the world because medical companies did commercialized his mothers cells. Which to me seems fair.
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Yes, I would agree that this compensation issue is very complex. It is sad that members of the Lacks family see this opportunity as a money grab more than appreciating what their family member has done for our society. While it would have been nice if her medical pays were payed off, the situation was intended to be kept under-wraps (pseudo-names and etc.) It is a shame that no true consent was given, and yes an ethical line was most certainly crossed. If the situation was that these cells were not as much of an influence as they were, then it would either be an ethic abuse issue or it would not have even been an issue because the cells would have made strides in the medical field.
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