The HeLa line was actually the subject of some debate two years ago. In essence, her family only found out in march 2013 that their ancestor's cells (which had

The HeLa line was actually the subject of some debate two years ago. In essence, her family only found out in march 2013 that their ancestor's cells (which had been taken without consent) were widely used for research. The family complained, and a settlement was reached with the NIH, allowing the family some measure of control over where the cells are used, crediting the origins of the cells in publications, and removing the genome from public-access databases. Some hail this as a victory for research ethics, while some feel that it confuses the issue of who has control over donor tissue and genetic data. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/07/henrietta-lacks-family-settlement-on-dna-info_n_3720936.html http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/07/henrietta-lacks-fam...