Henrietta Lacks “ An Immortal Life ”
involved in more than 74,000 research studies and in key discoveries in cancer research , cloning , gene mapping , and vitro fertilization . They have also played a crucial role in the development of the polio and COVID-19 vaccines , and have been to space as part of studies aimed at determining the effects of zero gravity on human cells .
On October 5 , 1951 , Henrietta Lacks , age 31 , died of cervical cancer after a few months of treatment at Johns Hopkins Medical Centre .
During the course of her treatment , Henrietta underwent two biopsies , obtaining cells that were used to make the diagnosis of cancer . Dr . George Gey , a scientist at Johns Hopkins Hospital , studied these cells and discovered that they were unlike any other he had ever seen . They had an extraordinary capacity to survive and reproduce ; where other cells would die , Henrietta ’ s cells replicated and doubled every 24 hours - they were in fact , immortal !
Dr . Gey used these same cells to create the first immortal human cell line . The cells , called HeLa cells , became invaluable to medical research , being
The story of Henrietta Lacks also illustrates the racial inequities embedded in the US research and healthcare systems . Henrietta Lacks was a Black woman . At the time , Johns Hopkins was one of only a few hospitals that provided medical care to Black people . For decades , HeLa cells continued to be shared and used throughout the medical research community without the consent or knowledge of Henrietta ’ s family ( though the collection and use of Henrietta Lacks ’ cells in research , without consent , was an acceptable and legal practice in the 1950 ’ s , the same thing could not happen today without a patient ’ s consent ). In fact , it was not until 1971 that her family even became aware that her cells existed , and not until 2013 that they gained some legal claim over the cells . Furthermore , none of the biotechnology companies that profited from the use of Henrietta Lacks ’ cells paid any of the financial benefits back to her family .
In 2010 , Rebecca Skloot ’ s investigative novel , ' The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks ' brought attention to this amazing , yet little known story .