Why Are They At High Risk For Having Children With Genetic Disorders?

When the cells finally began growing in Gey’s lab it was seen as a huge advance in the world of science, seeing as no one had succeeded beforehand, this was a great accomplishment on his part. However, Henrietta was never told of this or how important her cells had become, she simply continued living without knowing that the cancerous cells inside her were continuing to grow despite receiving “treatment” from the doctors. Her only treatment was a small patch of radiation sewn directly into her cervix on the area where the tumor had appeared, after some tests showed that the tumor had disappeared she continued with her normal life of farming, raising her children, and enjoying life. Henrietta never complained about any side effects of the radiation, however, it eventually would make her infertile and cause her skin on her torso to turn black.

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.

Her family had realized that Henrietta had suffered and died, but her cells lived on and that her cells have helped so many people. Henrietta’s son said “I just hope Hopkins and some of the other folks who benefited off of her cells will do something in honor of her and make right with the family”(Skloot, pg. 328). Henrietta is finally getting recognized, which brought unwanted attention to the family from the media, doctors, and researchers that wanted a piece of the HeLa gene line. That affected her daughter, Deborah negatively because she never really knew her mother, but when Deborah first heard of the book she was very excited that the world would finally get to know her mother’s story.

To Begin, Hennie came from a family of ten, they originally lived in Roanoke, Virginia in the 1920’s. In 1924 Hennie’s mother died while giving birth to her tenth child. Johnny Lacks, Henrietta’s father was now responsible for all ten children. But because of his health and little patience for the children they then moved to Clover, Virginia where the rest of the family lived and divided the children up between all family members. Henrietta ended up growing up and living with her grandfather, Tommy Lacks. She also grew up with her

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 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

They have helped out understanding in cancer, HIV, and cells in general. Another big test for HeLa cells is when HeLa cells were sent into space with the first humans to orbit space; they went to study the nutritional needs of the cell. They discovered that cells divided more quickly in zero gravity. They were sent into space to test the effects of atomic radiation, they were fused with mice cells to create the first cell hybrid. The first hybrid allowed for advances in gene mapping. The HeLa cell has been exposed not only to radiation but household chemicals, viruses and even biological weapons. In cancer, the HeLa cell was used to define the makers of cancers in RNA. They also proved that a cancer cell could go into space.

During all this her family had no clue that Henrietta's cells were multiplying rapidly, including all the money that came with it. Later the family figured out what was going on with their family members ongoing reproducing cells. As Henrietta's cells were spreading all over the world in different labs, her family felt exploited. They knew that others were profiting from her cells while they lived in

Henrietta’s human condition is reservation she didn’t want to tell people about her cancer because she likes to keep her private business a secret and she doesn’t want anyone to worry too much. For example, after Henrietta received her biopsy report “[s]he simply went on with her day as if nothing had happened” (Skloot 31) even with such a frightening health issue like a tumor she did not tell anyone, not even her husband, she acted like everything was fine. Another example of Henrietta acting this way is when, she was getting ready to go back to the hospital, she tells Day, her husband, and her children, “not to worry.. Ain’t nothing serious wrong.. Doctor’s gonna fix me right up.” (31) She is determined hustle through these therapies on her

Scientists all over the world think of her as an important individual in science. “Their mother will never die as long as the medical science is around, she will always be such a famous thing" (Hsu). Additionally, she left a greater influence onto her family and friends. “Everybody liked Henrietta cause she was a very good condition person” (Cootie). After learning about HeLa, they believed Henrietta will never be known.

In order for all this research to take place though, there needed to be a huge supply of HeLa cells. Demand for HeLa cells was so high that soon a factory overseen by Gey was built to help mass produce the quantities needed. Eventually, an outside company called Microbiological Associated created a commercial factory to sell the cells knowing that there was a growing

The family feared what they believed were "night doctors who abducted black people for medical research"(Skloot). Because there was still discrimination then, they feared the worst. In my opinion the Lacks family was angry with the scientists using HeLa cells from Henrietta without the family's consent. I think they wanted everyone to know that Henrietta didn't donate her cells, they were taken without asking and without telling the family what was going to happen to 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.

Do immortal cells exist? Loretta Pleasant, better known as Henrietta Lacks was an African American female born on August 1, 1920. She spent almost most of her childhood and early teenage years in Roanoke, Virginia. At the age of fifteen, Henrietta married David Lacks and moved to Baltimore, Maryland. Together, they had five children. Their children were named, Deborah, David Jr., Lawrence, Elsie, and Joseph Lacks.

In this case, it also seems that the doctors who treated Henrietta had something more important for research in mind rather than saving her from her cancer.