We all agree that consent is incredibly important. However, when it comes to being paid for research, I think it is essential to consider the money involved in it. To clarify, I believe that a university publishing research using government funding ought to face different standards for payment than a corporation that succeeds in creating a viable, marketed product using the same research samples. The university is using public funds for common good, and thus forcing the university to pay hurts the general public.

As far as Hela was concerned, however, the standards of consent at the time did not give her an opportunity to say no. We can’t do anything about that, but we can ensure we meet those standards in the future. And if a modern Hela checked no, her consent would trump the general needs of others, in the same way, I cannot force someone to give me their spare kidney no matter how badly I want it.