My wife has a PhD in biology. She worked with HeLa cells constantly (and never knew through that time that they were an acronym for someone’s name, much less who that person was).
It’s no exaggeration to say that modern human biological science is built entirely on cells taken from Henrietta Lacks without her family’s permission or even knowledge.
https://researchbuzz.masto.host/@researchbuzz/110814369746877025
@lkanies some but certainly not the majority. They are human cells. Much molecular cell biology uses other cells, then there is the vast non human side which has contributed far more. From enzymology to structural biology to biotech and so on, no HeLa cells.
This in no way negates the righteousness of her family’s case.
However it is important to keep the perspective right.
