"The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks"

     Researchers have been making great advancements within the medical field ever since a magical cell line was discovered, called HeLa cells.  HeLa is the name of one of the first human cancer cell lines that researchers used to perform experiments on because it was the first to continue growing out of the host’s body.  In fact, these cells grow so rapidly that they were given the nickname “immortal cells”.  When you mention the HeLa cell line to scientists and other people, they often associate HeLa with the research the cells were used in or the progress that was made as a result of the use of HeLa.  Does anybody ever stop to think where these miraculous cells came from?  It was not until somewhat recently, that it became public knowledge as to where HeLa cells were obtained.  For many years the identity of the woman the cells were extracted from was concealed, but now her identity has been publically announced as Henrietta Lacks.  Neither her, nor her family had any knowledge of the use of her cells for research, but

back when it occurred, consent was not needed to use human specimens.  If it was not considered illegal to use Henrietta Lacks’ cells without consent, then why was her identity kept secret for such a long period of time?  This question then raises the idea that maybe the researchers knew that what they were doing was unethical.  

     The book, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, written by Rebecca Skloot, gives the reader insight about the woman with the “immortal” cell line, explains the events that took place in order to obtain the cells and how they were then used in the scientific field.  The book does this in a way that can be somewhat confusing at first, because it jumps around between several years, but there is a helpful timeline at the beginning of each chapter to guide the reader.  Skloot first provides the reader with great detail of Henrietta’s life and progresses into the use and importance of her cells, and then continues with her personal interactions with the Lacks family and how this situation has affected them.  It was surprising to see how little the family knew about Henrietta’s cells and how mistreated they were by doctors when they went searching for answers. Although it is quite evident the stance that Skloot takes, she does not pressure her opinions on the reader and allows them to interpret Henrietta’s story in their own way. 

     Henrietta Lacks was a poor black woman living in a town called Turner Station who noticed something was terribly wrong with her body and was sent to Johns Hopkins Hospital.  At this time, Johns Hopkins was one of the only hospitals that allowed colored people to be cared for, since nearly no doctor wanted to work with people of color.  Henrietta was diagnosed with cervical cancer and while receiving radium treatments, a procedure where a tube of radium was placed inside the body in attempt to kill the cancer cells; a biopsy was taken of her tumor without her knowledge.  That biopsy was sent to a lab, George Gey’s lab, where it was discovered that the now termed HeLa cells were able to continuously grow.  They were the first cells to grow successfully in culture, allowing millions of research to be performed on them.  These cells were then sold all across the world, allowing scientists to make a fortune, while Henrietta’s family was clueless; raising the question of morality.