It wasn’t until 1971 (twenty years after they did it!), that her descendants first learned her genes had been sequenced and that the genome was made available to the public. But it took a number of years and in 2013, after a protracted fight, the family won the right to make the genome available only to scientists who apply, as well as to serve on a working group that will help review the applications.
They have never received any payment for Henrietta Lacks’s cells or any compensation from the profits that have come from the research done using her cells.
For decades, Henrietta Lacks’ mother had the only tombstone of the five graves in the family cemetery in Lackstown, and Henrietta’s own grave was unmarked. In 2010, however, Dr. Roland Pattillo of the Morehouse School of Medicine donated a headstone for Lacks after reading The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. The headstone is shaped like a book and reads:
Henrietta Lacks, August 01, 1920 – October 04, 1951.
In loving memory of a phenomenal woman, wife and mother who touched the lives of many.
Here lies Henrietta Lacks (HeLa). Her immortal cells will continue to help mankind forever.
Eternal Love and Admiration, From Your Family