The Hela Cell Line

Her cells, taken from a cervical cancer biopsy became the first cells to reproduce infinitely in a lab. HeLa cells are still the standard in labs around the world today. Before HeLa cells, scientists spent more time trying to keep cells alive than actually performing research on the cells. There is an endless supply of HeLa cells and this allows more time for new

In 1951, the first immortal cell line was created by a doctor at Johns Hopkins Hospital using tissue samples taken from a young, black woman named Henrietta Lacks. Her cells would come to be known as HeLa cells, and for a very long time, the owner of these cells was a mystery; even her family did not know about them. For years to come, her cells would be used in many important medical and scientific advancements. Over that time, HeLa cells would prove to be instrumental in developing a polio vaccine, gene mapping, and in vitro fertilization. They would even be sent to space to see how cells would react in zero gravity.

The HeLa cells (the name for Henrietta Lacks cells) led to the discovery of polio vaccines, genetic medication, HPV vaccine, and much more. Still today, these HeLa cells are being researched and used to protect the public from life-threatening diseases such as cancer and tuberculosis. The public health response to new medical advancements and research from the HeLa cells has had many positive and negative consequences on the individuals, families/communities, and the nation.

Finding discoveries that would greatly benefit medicine have always been difficult to achieve in cancer research. Though, everything changed on February 1, 1951, when Howard Jones discovered that Henrietta Lacks had cervical cancer. When George Gey heard of this, he took samples from Henrietta Lacks’ tumor, and found something that changed for future medical research. George Gey had noticed that Henrietta Lacks’ cancer cells was the first human cell line that could be consistently passaged. The cells were later called HeLa cells, which were named after Henrietta Lacks. Even though scientists greatly benefited from it, Henrietta Lacks, nor her family profited from it.

HeLa simply stands for Henrietta Lacks, a young mother in the 1951 who went to the doctor complaining of vaginal bleeding and discovered she had cervical cancer. Henrietta’s cells were taken for a biopsy and were found to be like nothing ever seen before; her cells were immortal. Her cancer cells double every 20 to 24 hours and have lived on for the past 60 years. Since HeLa cells were created, our world of modern medicine has been completely changed. We now vaccines for once incurable diseases and have used the cells for cloning and other biomedical research. Although the cells have done a great deal of good,

The HeLa cells are the first immortal cell lines. Immortal cell lines are not like other cells. These cells don’t die of old age. Immortal cells are important because these cells grow indefinitely and they survive and grow by dividing. This allows scientists to research more productively. HeLa cells are used for many researches to cure diseases and develop new drugs. With HeLa cells scientists did many researches and it led to breakthroughs in the study of leukemia, influenza, hemophilia, Parkinson’s disease, cancer, AIDS, and more. It became one of the important tools in medicine. These improvements in diseases saved lives of many people. HeLa cells are coming from an African American female from Baltimore. HeLa cells are taken from Henrietta Lacks’ cervix

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)

In 1951, Henrietta Lacks was diagnosed with cervical cancer at John Hopkins Hospital. Without any consent, Henrietta’s doctors took tissue samples from her cervix and attempted to grow them and keep them alive. These cells, known as HeLa cells, 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.

Her family would later find out Henrietta was misdiagnosed. Henrietta went to John Hopkins for treatment due to it being the only hospital in her area who would treat African Americans. Many doctors during this time would use the public for research without the patient’s consent, and this happened to Henrietta. Without Henrietta’s permissions, a doctor treating Henrietta’s tumor proceeded to take tissue from her cancer tumors and her healthy cervical tissue. Her tissue ended up in Gey’s lab which were named HeLa. Two days later Henrietta’s cells began growing, and soon after Gey began giving samples of HeLa to his closest colleagues (Skloot 41). Henrietta never knew of her cells growing in the lab. Unfortunately, Henrietta’s cancer began to spread throughout her body. Treatment was not working for Henrietta, and she passed away October 4th, 1951 (Skloot 86). No one knew who Henrietta was for a long time, and she lost a lot of time of receiving credit for her cells. Henrietta’s cells ended up being sold for a profit by a manufacturer. Her family did not receive anything from Henrietta’s cells being used. Henrietta’s cells helped changed the medical world. Her cells were used for creating a polio vaccine and IVF. They also helped understand HPV, HIV, and AIDs. Henrietta’s cells have done a lot for cancer research. However, Henrietta’s family suffered deeply after her death, and

Diagnosed with cervical cancer, she was sent to John Hopkins hospital for treatment. Henrietta’s doctor, without consent, gave cell samples to Dr. Gey for cancer research. Dr. Gey soon realized the cells did not die in vitro, but continued to divide and flourish. Twenty years passed since the death of Henrietta Lacks, and her family remained impoverished and lacked health care. Coincidentally, a member of the Lacks family met an employee of the National Cancer Institute. Recognizing her surname, he claimed he was working with the cells of a women named Henrietta Lacks. The Lacks family was shocked and did not completely understand how their mother could still exist as the smallest unit of life. Today, companies who sell HeLa cells make billions of dollars, while the Lacks family does not receive any compensation or health

As well as the pain and struggle that the Lacks family experienced after finding out Henrietta more than twenty years later. Henrietta was diagnosed with cervical cancer when she was only thirty years old. Henrietta died within months of the diagnoses and her family was never notified about the miraculous findings. She was a mother of five children a lived a difficult life. At that time, Africans Americans still were treated very unfairly. Many hospitals did not treat African Americans; but, the few that did segregated them into different wards. A doctor named George Gey, noticed something special about her cells. He decided to save the cells in an incubator type fridge. After a brief time, Gey noticed the cells were growing rapidly and staying alive. Gey named the cells HeLa and started selling to other doctors and researchers. Without Lacks consent, HeLa cells developed a multimillion dollar industry that is still growing today and saving the lives of millions of people

Many of today’s major vaccines would not have been possible without the ever so famous HeLa cells. These cells have a very unique trait that makes them immortality. Although they sound like something straight out of science fiction, they come from an actual woman named Henrietta Lacks who was diagnosed with stage 4 cervical cancer. Although her cells went on to be world famous, Henrietta lived a life of inequality because of her race, gender, and socio-economic class throughout her short lifespan.

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.

After Gey succeeded to find the immortal human cells, he started to sell HeLa cells without Henrietta’s consent. “Gey sells HeLa cells to researchers in Texas, India, New York, and many others place” (Skloot 84). He did not give any credit to Henrietta. He only told Henrietta that her cells will help many people in the future. “In fact, in the future HeLa cells were contribute into polio vaccine; develop drugs for treating herpes, leukemia, influenza, hemophilia, and Parkinson’s disease” (Skloot 22). Hela cells were also used in cancer treatment and were the first cells that were shot into space.

"He repeated this process with about a dozen other cancer patients. He told them he was testing their immune systems; he said nothing about injecting them with someone else's malignant cells" (Skloot 128). In February of 1954, a cancer researcher, Chester Southam, preforms an experiment on many cancer patients without their knowledge. He injects millions of HeLa cells into his patients to test the theory that cancer is caused by either a virus or an immune deficiency. During the 1950s, the line between what is ethical and what is unethical in the medical field is grey and unclear. Innocent people's privacy is invaded, but the scientists claim they are doing it to advance science. Henrietta Lacks is the originator of the HeLa cell line. The HeLa cell line is found in early 1951, when Henrietta passes away; this cell line is one of the most important cell lines ever discovered in the medical field because of its ability to grow and the possible cures which can be created from its use.