Indeed, it is about the deadening of conscience. Why kidney cells of all things. Why not taste buds and olfactory cells that came from organ donors who lived and died in such a manner that these cells weren’t adversely affected. The kidney cells are going to be seen as “reaching” even by the average scientifically literate adult.
It’s not about deadening anything, it’s utilizing available tools. It’s the kidney cells because that’s what Alex Van der Eb harvested to make the sample 40 years ago that is still used today. That culture worked well for stuff so it gets used.
None of this is a big secret, these cells have a web page:
http://hek293.com/