The Dilemma Of Henrietta Lacks

Henrietta Lacks died never knowing the impact her life would have on the world of medicine. A poor, black woman living in Baltimore, Maryland in the 1950s, Henrietta was diagnosed with cervical cancer and died only nine short months after her diagnosis at the age of thirty-one. The mother of five children, Henrietta most likely died thinking her family would be her legacy. Little did she know her doctor at John Hopkins hospital, George Gey, had taken some of her cells before she died. With Henrietta’s cells, Dr. Gey was finally able to achieve a goal he had been working toward for decades – creating the first line of immortal cells (Freeman). These cells have been used for countless scientific research and have solidified Henrietta Lacks’ place

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)

Henrietta Lacks was an African American woman who was born on August 1, 1920 in Roanoke, Virginia. She lived with her mother until the age of four and then she moved in with her uncle on a tobacco plantation after her death. While staying there she ended up sharing a room with her first cousin David “Day” Lacks, after sharing a room with him for many years, in 1935 Henrietta had their first child at the age of fourteen, they named him Lawrence, then, four years later they had their second child Elsie and then in 1941 they were married.

In 1973, researchers were trying to stop a HeLa contamination problem but in order to do that they would need samples of Henrietta’s DNA. Victor McKusick was one of the researchers and was also on staff at John Hopkins. He gave instructions to one of his assistants, Susan Hsu, to contact the Lacks’ family and see if they could take some blood samples. Day only having a third grade education didn’t understand what Susan Hsu was asking. All he heard was “They said they got my wife and she part alive. They said they been doin experiments on her and they wanted to come test my children see if they got that cancer killed their mother.” (Skloot,

Bringing Henrietta to Life: Creating Dialogue on Disparities across Disciplines Henrietta Lacks was a woman who made an eye-opening breakthrough in medicine in the early 1950s. Her cells were the first immortal cells to be discovered which paved the way for developing the polio vaccine, cloning, gene mapping, in-vitro fertilization, and more. Unfortunately, there are two sides to every story. Although, modern medicine would not be where it is today without Hela cells, Henrietta’s family continued to struggle with her legacy because of the health disparities associated with ethics, race, and medicine. Henrietta’s cells were taken without her knowledge and used to cure various medical conditions.

The “The immortal life of Henrietta lacks” is a biography of all the events that happened surround the discovery, experimentation, and aftermath of the HeLa cells. This book goes in depth not only about the cells but the lacks family. In 1951 after her daughter Deborah was born Henrietta she talk to her cousins and some friends and described the feeling of “a knot” inside of her. Months after

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot is an amazingly captivating book about an African American woman who died in 1951 of cervical cancer, whose cells became the first in history to be able to survive and replicate endlessly outside of the human body. Skloot covers the true story on the impact Henrietta’s cells, also known as HeLa cells, had on her family and the world of science. Although I was intrigued by the entire book and the concept of HeLa cells, what truly provoked me to want to further research the topic was the injustice Henrietta’s family was forced to face, and how they learned to cope with it.

In 1951, Henrietta Lacks was diagnosed with cervical cancer at John Hopkins Hospital. Henrietta complained of a knot in her womb that caused her pain so she decided to visit the hospital in search of diagnosis. After being diagnosed with cervical cancer, the doctor recommended a biopsy be done on her cancerous tissue. Without any consent, Henrietta’s doctors took tissue samples from her cervix and attempted to grow them and keep them alive. These cells were known as HeLa cells, they began to grow at an unbelievable rate; The HeLa cell became vital for the development of vaccines and other scientific research. However because of Henrietta’s race and economic standpoint, Henrietta Lacks and the rest of the Lacks family was exploited by doctors. The exploitation of the family allowed the doctors and researchers to benefit scientifically and monetarily.

As further described by Skloot’s book, Henrietta Lacks was a beautiful woman with “walnut eyes, straight white teeth and full lips” also a wife, mother, and friend to everyone around her (Skloot 68). A few months after her last baby was born she saw abnormal bleeding in which she went to see a doctor. Her doctor found a lump inside her cervix, then he suggested to attend Johns Hopkins Hospital, since

Henrietta Lacks was a young African American woman. Doctors experimented on her in order to form the HeLa cells, which was an immortal cell line, obtained from her body, and used in scientific research. She was born in Roanoke, Virginia, and known by the name of Loretta Pleasant. When her mother died, she changed her name to Henrietta Lacks, and was sent to live with her grandfather in an old slave quarters. She roomed with her cousin, Day Lacks, who later fathered her two children, Lawrence and Elsie.

Can you imagine doctors stealing your cells and using them for scientific medical experiments without you or your family’s consent, and for your cells to be sold worldwide without anyone knowing, even your family, that you are the woman whose cells became immortal and helped in fascinating scientific and medical discoveries? This is the story of a woman named Henrietta Lacks whose immortal cells are known as HeLa. The book, “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks,” written by Rebecca Skloot is a scientific biography about Henrietta’s life before and after her death and the effects it had on others. In the book she explains her journey of discovering the truth behind Hela, she talks about the Lacks family, and the events caused by the HeLa cells.

The doctors at John Hopkins felt that it was okay to take Henrietta’s cells without telling her because they looked at it as her payment since she was attending the free clinic and not actually paying for her treatment. Henrietta’s family would not be informed about the cells the doctors took until after Henrietta’s death. The radium x ray treatment that Henrietta received worked temporarily, but she felt the cancer begin to grow again, and all she wanted was for the doctors to take her seriously and attempt to treat her again. Once the doctors finally agreed to reexamine Henrietta, they realized that tumor had grown and spread unimaginably and there was nothing they could do to help Henrietta. Mrs. Lacks died at the age of thirty one, leaving her husband, five children, and other family members behind. By accident, the Lack’s family found out that the researchers at Johns Hopkins took their mother’s cells, now called HeLa cells, and that they were sent all over the world for scientific

The book The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot is the result of years of research done by Skloot on an African American woman with cervical cancer named Henrietta Lacks. Cells from Lacks’ tumor are taken and experimented on without her knowledge. These cells, known as HeLa cells, are the first immortal human cells ever grown. The topic of HeLa cells is the topic of many controversial debates. Despite the fact that her cells are regarded as, “one of the most important advancements in the last hundred years” (4), little is actually known about the woman behind the cells. Skloot sets out on a mission to change this fact and share the story of the woman from whom the cells originate and her family as they deal with the effects these cells have on them.

The medical community did not explain to or inform the Lacks family of the HeLa cells; along the way the scientists altogether forgot that Henrietta and her family were not abstractions but actual people. The family felt that this was unethical; they felt their mother was robbed and taken advantage of. Despite the spread of HeLa cells and the whirlwind of new research that followed, there were no recent news or stories about “the birth of the amazing HeLa cell line” (Skloot 58). In the beginning, when Gey had kept the origin of the cells- or Henrietta - a secret, no one knew where the cells had came from and no one cared to ask.

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