Henrietta Lacks Thesis

Due to the fact that Henrietta’s cells were the first human cells grown in a lab that did not die after a few cell divisions, they could be used for conducting many experiments. Her cells were considered “immortal”. This was a major breakthrough in medical and biological research. One major breakthrough was the development of a vaccine for polio. To test the vaccine the cells were quickly put into mass production in the first-ever cell production factory. Another enormous breakthrough was the successful cloning of human cells in 1955. Demand for the HeLa cells grew quickly. Since they were put into mass production, Henrietta’s cells have been mailed to scientists around the globe from “research into cancer, AIDS, the effects of radiation and toxic substances, gene mapping, and countless other scientific pursuits.” (Smith, 2002, "Wonder Woman: The Life, Death, and Life After Death of Henrietta Lacks, Unwitting Heroine of Modern Medical Science".) HeLa cells have been used to test human sensitivity to tape, glue, cosmetics, and many other products. Scientists have grown some 20 tons of her cells, and there are almost 11,000 patents involving HeLa cells. (Batts, 2010)

The non-fiction book The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, written by Rebecca Skloot, details the happenings and life of Henrietta Lacks, an African American woman and tobacco farmer who became a medical miracle in the 1950’s. The book is written in an attempt to chronicle both the experiences and tribulations of Henrietta Lacks and her family, as well as the events that led to, and resulted from, research done on Henrietta Lacks’ cells. Henrietta was a very average African American woman in this period; she had only a seventh-grade level education, and followed traditional racial and gender roles by spending her time has a mother and caretaker, as well as working on farms throughout her life until the involvement of the US in World War II brought her and her husband, “Day” Lacks, comparatively better work opportunities in industrial steel mills. However, after her death in 1951 Henrietta became much more than average to doctors at John Hopkins when the discovered that cells extracted from her cancerous tissue continued to live and grow much longer than any other tissue samples. Further investigation and isolation of these thriving cells led to the creation of the first ever immortal human cell line in medical history. The incredible progress in medicine made possible by Henrietta Lack’s tissue cells were not without downfalls, though. The treatments and experiences received by Henrietta and the effects it had on her and her family demonstrate both racial and gender

Also, I love that Henrietta changed the medical field forever. I like how Skloot tried to make me feel like I was experiencing this with Henrietta Lacks and her family. What I did not like was how Henrietta Lacks was treated by the doctors because she was a poor black tobacco farmer. However, I do not like the vocabulary that is used in this book. Also, it was wrong that Henrietta Lacks married her first cousin. Plus, Lacks had many cousins’ therefore, it is hard to keep track of all of the names and relationships. If my family experienced this, I would be furious that the doctors did not tell me or my family what was being done. Eventually I think my family would be tolerant because my cells would be helping people around the world. I think that is how Henrietta’s family felt after a couple of years after they found out about “HeLa” cells. The main person who stood out so far is Henrietta’s daughter, Deborah because she got so upset about the doctors taking her mom’s cells that she had to take medicine to calm down. I hate that Lacks had to live in a time when white people and black people were segregated. White people had nice fancy bathrooms while black had nasty bathrooms. I thought that it was a little weird that people rubbed the Jesus statue’s toe before they saw the doctor but why his toe

Henrietta Lacks is woman, whose cells have been used for 63 years after her death in 1951, and will continue to be used as long as they are continue to grow. Henrietta Lacks was an African American woman who was born in the south, who married her cousin and moved up north. After giving birth to her last child, she finds that she has cancer. The doctors took a sample of her cancer cells without her permission, and now have millions of dollars but the family is still hasn’t received the money they are rightfully entitled to. Many of healthcare and entitlements that are around today, are due to the ill treatment of Henrietta and her family. Still to this day, there is very little known about Henrietta Lacks, even with the book out, and she has

We had to read a book that was written about the HeLa cells and all that they have done. The title of the book is The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks and was written by Rebecca Skloot. The cells that were taken from (He)nrietta (La)cks are so special because they were the first human cells ever grown in culture that were immortal. They never die, and they reproduce at great speeds. HeLa cells helped aid the progression of gene mapping, vaccines for various of diseases and also replaced the use of animals in some cosmetics

Her cells, taken without her consent from a cervical cancer biopsy, became the first human immortal cell line. Rebecca Skloot’s book, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, tells about her life, her cells and her family. It discusses both the stories of the Lacks family and the history behind the HeLa cell line. HeLa has been the cornerstone of numerous medical advances. For nearly 60 years, the body of the woman who revolutionized modern medicine laid in an unmarked grave in Clover,

Brief Synopsis The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks is story of a poor black woman whose cells were taken away from her without her knowledge in 1951. HeLa was born in the 1920’s and died in the 1950’s due to having cervical cancer. Her cells that were taken was used to launch the cell line called HeLa that has been used in medical research. Lack’s cells never died and became one of the most vital tools in medicine today and has developed the polio vaccine, cloning, gene mapping, and many more.

After her death in 1951, for six decades, Henrietta Lacks did not exist in the eyes of the society, but her cells did. How? Well, the answer is quite simple. HeLa Cells are the first immortal human cells. These cells never die and multiply every twenty-four hours. After spending 10 years to perfect her first book, author of The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, Rebecca Skloot essentially captured the life, the death, and aftermath of Henrietta Lacks’ life. With controversial issues regarding science, ethics, race, and class Skloot takes us on an extraordinary journey. From the “colored” ward of Johns Hopkins Hospital in the 1950s to stark white laboratories with freezers full of HeLa cells, from Henrietta’s small, dying hometown of Clover,

Throughout the 1960’s medical health care was not as advanced and thorough like it is today. During the 1900’s, families were not as informed of their medical records than today due to a breakthrough in medical technology (Skloot, Rebecca. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks). In past years, hospital experience turned out to be quite lengthy stays for some people and had given a redundant insult with no respect to a patient. Some people had not been as beneficial as white people have. These problems should not even exist, it is just physical discrimination against people of different color.

This article explains how Henrietta Lacks’ cells (HeLa) were essential in developing the polio vaccine and were used for other scientific milestones, such as cloning, gene mapping and in vitro fertilisation. The cells were also the first to travel to space in order to see effects of zero gravity. The source also mentions how Henrietta’s family were not aware of the experimentation on her cells for twenty

In the year 1951, an African American woman known as Henrietta Lacks died of cervical cancer. Unknowingly, her cancerous cells would later be discovered as the first immortal human cells. These cells were then referred to as HeLa by Doctor Gey, who was a tissue expert at the Hopkins Hospital. Her cells were discovered as the first human cells without her ever knowing they had been removed from her body and cultured. Rebecca Skloot, a journalist, and author of The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks embarked on a journey to discover more about Henrietta Lacks’s struggle, pain, and efforts to get treatment. Henrietta nor her family members were ever told of the cultured cells, but would later find out and be very upset. They would be shocked

The resulting book, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, combines the story of the HeLa cells with that of Henrietta and her family. Skloot works hard to gain the trust of the Lacks family, who were angry and distressed about HeLa and the way in which they had been treated. No one had ever explained to them what HeLa was and what it was used for; they struggled to reconcile the immortal existence of their mother’s cells with their own religious beliefs; they have had experiences of being misled and patronized by scientists and other people trying to exploit them; and some members of the family, who live in poverty and cannot afford health insurance, feel that they are entitled to a share of the vast profits that HeLa has made. Over several years, Skloot forms a relationship with the Lacks family, who begin to realize that she is not trying to exploit them. She becomes particularly close to Henrietta’s daughter, Deborah, who desperately wants to learn everything she can about the mother who died when she was just a toddler. Deborah also wants her mother’s story to be

When I first began reading the book The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, written by Rebecca Skloot, I expected it to only be about the science behind HeLa cells, which I didn’t find particularly exciting. Except, I was proven very wrong. I have not been able to put this book down, for Rebecca Skloot is a remarkable writer who entices the reader with the emotional story of Henrietta Lacks and her family. It is true that there were quite a few scientific studies included within this book, but they never dampened the adventure. If anything the studies were integrated in such a way that I feel they were needed in order to understand all of the perspectives. Reading all of the scientific advancements made using HeLa cells left me happy, but also led me to question how justifiable it was. These researchers took Henrietta’s cells and used them without her even being aware of their actions. I believe the original intent of the book The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks was to humanize and give Henrietta and her family credit for the advancement in science that her cells, the HeLa cells, contributed; thus leading me to my conclusion that the advancement in science using HeLa cells is not justifiable because of the harm inflicted on both the family and society.

The effect the discovery and creation of the HeLa cells made on the science community and Henrietta’s family had a domino effect. Both had different opinions and beliefs on the matter; this led to some difficult questions asked of the family and of the medical community. Due to the new and advanced methods of experimentation, the HeLa cells made to to the field of science, the scientific community and the media failed to remember that Henrietta and her family were not abstractions but actual people. Rebecca Skloot, however, took into account the Lack’s family, she inquired both the history of the HeLa cells as well as the Lacks family, treating them as actual people with inalienable rights.

The book The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot, was a nonfiction story about the life of Henrietta Lacks, who died of cervical cancer in 1951. Henrietta did not know that her doctor took a sample of her cancer cells a few months before she died. “Henrietta cells that called HeLa were the first immortal human cells ever grown in a laboratory” (Skloot 22). In fact, the cells from her cervix are the most important advances in medical research. Rebecca was interested to write this story because she was anxious with the story of HeLa cells. When she was in biology class, her professor named Donald Defler gave a lecture about cells. Defler tells the story about Henrietta Lacks and HeLa cells. However, the professor ended his