WHO honors Henrietta Lacks, whose cells were taken without her consent

• Lacks, who died of cervical cancer on Oct. 4, 1951 at the age of 31, had tissues unknowingly taken from her at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore while she was seeking treatment for cervical cancer.
• Doctors used the tissue to successfully clone human cells for the first time. The medical breakthrough was marred by the revelation that came years later that the doctors had removed Lacks' tissue without her knowledge.
• HeLa cells — derived from the first two letters of Henrietta Lacks' first and last names — have been used to develop the polio vaccine, genetic mapping and COVID-19 vaccines.

What he's saying: "What happened to Henrietta was wrong," WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said during the ceremony honoring Lacks, per AP.

• "Henrietta Lacks was exploited. She is one of many women of color whose bodies have been misused by science," Tedros said.
• "She placed her trust in the health system so she could receive treatment. But the system took something from her without her knowledge or consent."
• "The medical technologies that were developed from this injustice have been used to perpetuate further injustice because they have not been shared equitably around the world," Tedros added.

Go deeper: Henrietta Lacks' estate sues biotech company over alleged use of stolen cells