Analysis of Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

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In February 2010, author and journalist Rebecca Skloot published a book, "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks," which included the stories surrounding the HeLa cell line as well as research into Henrietta Lacks' life. In 1951 a poor young black women, Henrietta Lacks was diagnosed with cervical cancer and at the time was treated in the “colored ward” or segregated division of Johns Hopkins Hospital. The procedure required samples of her cervix to be removed. Henrietta Lacks, the person who was the source of these cells was unaware of their removal. Her family was never informed about what had been accomplished with the use of her cells. The Lacks family has not received anything from the cell line to this day, although their mother’s cells have been bought and sold by many. This bestseller tells the stories of HeLa and traces the history of the cell while highlighting the ethical and legal issues of the research.
Henrietta’s name is associated with HeLa cells after a doctor took her cells without her knowing (the name derives from the first two letters of her first and last names). It is told that George Gey, a cancer researcher at Hopkins was longing to study cancer cells however, the method failed because the cells were studied outside of the body and died. But Henrietta’s cells did not die. In fact they continued to replicate making what we now know as the HeLa cell. The sample of Henrietta’s malignant tumor was offered to researchers who saw the cells continue to multiply in culture, and they still continue to grow up to this day. Scientists remain stumped why the HeLa cells survived whereas others didn't. It has been proposed that the immortality of her cells is due to the enzyme telomerase (Reveron, 2011). Telomerase pre...

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...m these advancements that are from human body parts. Instead, it is imperative to honor and preserve those who have made these interventions possible

Works Cited

Keiger, D. (2010, June 2). Immortal Cells, Enduring Issues. Johns Hopkins Magazine. Retrieved from http://http://archive.magazine.jhu.edu/2010/06/immortal-cells-enduring-issues/
Reveron, R. (2011, December 12). The immortal life of cells: HeLa's contributions to the Nobel Prize. Retrieved November 5, 2013, from http://immortalcells.blogspot.com/2011/12/helas-contributions-to-nobel-prize.html
Skloot, R. (2010). The immortal life of Henrietta Lacks. New York: Crown Publishers.

Smith, Stephanie. (2013, August 11). Henrietta Lacks’ family finally gets say in genetic destiny. Can we control our own?.CNN. Retrieved from http://www.cnn.com/2013/08/07/health/henrietta-lacks-genetic destiny/index.html?

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