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Henrietta Lacks' family have reached a settlement after her cells were taken without her consent

By Max Matza

BBC News

The family of a black woman whose cervical cells were harvested in 1951 without her knowledge and replicated infinitely ever since have reached a settlement with a biotech company.

Henrietta Lacks' cells enabled huge advances in medical science, and the cell line is still being used in research institutes worldwide.

But they were taken without consent.

Ms Lacks' family never received any compensation, and have fought for years to get justice for the "stolen" cells.

The details of the settlement reached on Monday with Massachusetts-based Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc have not been made public.

Ms Lacks, a 31-year-old mother from Baltimore, Maryland, began experiencing pain in her abdomen and abnormal bleeding in 1951. She was examined by gynaecologists at Johns Hopkins Hospital, who discovered a large mass on her cervix.