The Immortal Life Of Henrietta Lacks Analysis

Throughout the course of reading, the reader becomes very aware of the writer’s intentions. In The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, the author, Rebecca Skloot, opens with a quote that in turn, gives leading questions to the reader. Questions that we continue to ask ourselves throughout the entirety of reading. The scientific community and the media constantly treated the Lacks family as abstractions, but how? Was it intentional or coincidental? Do their actions have consequences? Does the community or media ever suffer as much as the family did?

Henrietta Lacks was an African American woman from whom scientist developed HeLa. Henrietta checked herself into the Johns Hopkins Hospital, which was one of the few places that offered treatment

George Gey, a researcher who was continuing decades-long unsuccessful scientific effort to keep human tissue alive indefinitely. Henrietta’s cells were different than the rest though. The cancerous cells began dividing rapidly. This is when it became clear that it could be the first line of “immortal” human cells, which began the lifelong suffering of the Lacks family. The unique power of those cells had taken the life of Henrietta Lacks.

The whole process involved extensive research conducted using Henrietta’s cervical cells. The cells were and still are widely used, and they were eventually used to develop multiple vaccines, gene mapping, cloning, and multiple other medical advancements. Despite the benefits the scientific and medical community experienced, the cells were taken without the knowledge or consent of the Lacks family.

When Henrietta passed away, her children and family were left in poverty. They could not afford medical insurance, despite the fact that HeLa cells were one of the main sources of medical

In writing this book, she dedicated decades of her time and money into research, in which she traveled to several places to search for information regarding this mysterious Henrietta Lacks. She interviews every relevant person she could in order to obtain the truth and bring it to the media. She weaves the life stories of the Lacks family members with science history, racial politics, and medical ethics. Skloot becomes a person Deborah can confide in and talk to about anything, and that is something a journalist won’t do unless they truly care about something. She truly cared about the woman behind the cells. In addition to this, she promised the family of Deborah Lacks that after publishing the book, she would use the proceeds to help Henrietta’s family since they were poverty-stricken. Therefore, Skloot viewed this family as paramount, having made significant contribution in the medical community through many years of pain.. The Lacks family is not the color for the scientific story, for Skloot they are the focus