Response To Rebecca Skloot´s The Immortal Life Of Henrietta Lacks
I chose The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot as my midterm book for a number of reasons. I thought the topic was very interesting and it initiated a passionate response in me from the beginning. Before I opened the book, I could not imagine how someone could take another person’s cells without getting permission and not be punished. After reading this book, I have realized that there is more to this issue than just “stolen” cells. It also covers informed consent, financial compensation, and our rights to our cells. In the book, Skloot mentions that when she tells people Henrietta’s story, the first question they ask is if it was illegal for the doctors to take Henrietta’s cells without her knowledge (pg.315). I thought a …show more content…
The basis of their case is that Henrietta’s cells did so much for the medical field, yet they cannot afford health insurance. I can sort of see the rationale behind wanting compensation, but some of it does not make sense. First, Johns Hopkins Hospital is not who they should be hitting with a law suit. Dr. George Gey got the cells from Henrietta’s doctor at Johns Hopkins Hospital and cultured them to see if they would grow, so Johns Hopkins Hospital did not make any money off of the cells. After he saw the cells would grow outside of the body, Gey just gave them to labs and researchers, so he did not make any money off of the cells. The Tuskegee Institute opened the first factory that mass produced the cells, but they were a non-profit. It was a long time after Henrietta’s death that anyone started making money off of her cells. If the family wanted to sue anyone, it would not be Johns Hopkins Hospital; it would be the institutions now mass producing the cells. Second, the fact that the family cannot afford health insurance is a separate matter and I do not think it has anything to do with Henrietta’s cells. As I stated previously, Henrietta’s cells were not the only samples taken by patients from Johns Hopkins Hospital or any hospital in the country for that …show more content…
These cells helped develop the polio vaccine and drugs to fight against a variety of diseases. They were used in gene mapping. They were the first cells cloned and used to create the first human-hybrid cells. These cells are used in nearly every form of research. Henrietta’s cells are invaluable. Without Henrietta’s cells, there is no way to know if we would have all of these advances in medicine and in science that we take for granted today. No matter where you stand on the controversial issues surrounding HeLa cells, I think we all would agree that we are very lucky to have
The Immortal Life Of Henrietta Lacks By Rebecca Skloot
1695 Words | 7 PagesIntroduction In this book, author Rebecca Skloot sets out to give a biography of the late Henrietta Lacks. She had first heard of Henrietta Lacks in her freshman biology class at 16 years old. After only learning her name and skin color, Skloot became very much curious. Twenty-two years later, all her research was published as The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks.
Summary Of The Immortal Life Of Henrietta Lacks
171 Words | 1 PagesIn the Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot, the author demonstrates the harsh realities that many African Americans faced in the medical and scientific field during the mid 20th century. The author shows the unjust practices of this time period through interviews with the Lacks family and medical professionals. These harsh realities are proven when Skloot talks to Henrietta’s family. Henrietta’s husband, Day, explains how they took samples from Henrietta’s body without consent when Skloot writes, “Day clenched his remaining three teeth. "I didn't sign no papers," he said.
The Immortal Life Of Henrietta Lacks By Rebecca Skloot
611 Words | 3 PagesHeLa cells were taken from Henrietta unbeknownst to her by George Gey, a cell biologist at Johns Hopkins hospital, when she went in for a biopsy of the tumor growing inside of her. Today, those cells have been crucial in the development of the polio vaccine, aided scientists in learning more about the secrets of cancer, helped in cloning and gene mapping, and have ultimately, been sold by the billions. Even still, Henrietta was buried in an unmarked grave.
Henrietta Lacks: Her Cells In The 1950's And Today
734 Words | 3 PagesHeLa has helped our world in many ways, as many as 70,000 medical studies and even more till this day. Her cells have been very needful in the development of drugs for herpes leukemia influenza (flu) and Parkinson’s disease. They have been used in many things like lactose digestion and mosquito mating. Before HeLa cells scientists spent more time keeping cells alive than actual research, an endless supply of HeLa freed up time for that(Skloot, Rebecca. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks.
Henrietta Lacks Essay
672 Words | 3 PagesThe Fluidity of Henrietta Lacks. Gender Norms & Racial Bias in the study of the Modern “Henrietta Lacks” Henrietta Lacks was an African American woman whose cancer cells were the source of the HeLa cell line, the first immortalized cell line and one of the most important cell lines in medical research. An immortalized cell line will reproduce indefinitely under specific conditions, and the HeLa cell line continues to be a source of invaluable medical data to present day. Lacks was the unwitting source of these cells from a tumor biopsied during treatment for cervical cancer at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland, U.S. in 1951. The cells were then cultured by George Otto Gey who created the cell line known as HeLa, which is still
The Immortal Life Of Henrietta Lacks By Rebecca Skloot
520 Words | 3 PagesHenrietta’s cells became the first to manage to live outside of the body in a culture created by Margaret, and these cells are still growing to this day. They have been packaged, shipped and sold countless times. The HeLa cells have made the biggest contribution to human kind in regards of medical research on cancer, polio, and many more viruses. There is a report of the insane experiments done to these cells, and since they are not a person, ethical limitations are nonexistent. HeLa opened the gates to
Henrietta Lacks Essay
535 Words | 3 PagesHaving the opportunity to discuss the impact of medical research performed on Henrietta Lacks’ cells with doctor George Guy would be an experience like no other. Through the use of Henrietta Lacks’s cells, George Guy created an industry that would fuel research throughout the scientific community. When Henrietta Lacks was admitted to the hospital for radiation treatments, doctors took samples of her cervical cancer cells. Henrietta was not informed that one of the two samples was sent to George Guy, a scientist researching the immortalization of human cells. Guy soon realized that these cells were able to grow outside of the human body, they even grew rapidly.
Henrietta Lacks Sparknotes
729 Words | 3 PagesHenrietta had a terrible case of cervical cancer which ultimately led to her death in 1951. Before she passed away, doctors took some of her cells to culture and see if they could get them to grow. The cells were given to Dr. George Gey. He had one of his assistants, Mary Kubicek take the cells and prepare them and put
Henrietta Skloot
823 Words | 4 PagesFrom then on, she began seeing a doctor in John Hopkins hospital for check-ups and treatments for cervical cancer. During one of her treatments, a doctor took a sample of her “knot” and passed it on to another doctor in the building to test it. This doctor was named George Gey, and he was trying to make the first immortal human cell line. However, every time he tried, it just did not seem to work. When Gey’s assistants began to grow Henrietta 's cells, they expected them to just die.
Henrietta Lacks Violation Of Autonomy At Johns Hopkins
1435 Words | 6 PagesAfter HeLa cells became widespread, industries like Microbiological Associates in Chapter 13 commercialized the production of HeLa and sold HeLa cells in the millions to scientists all over the world. However, no one at Microbiological Associates bothered to ask where HeLa cells are from and why none of the profits go anywhere else. Henrietta’s cells were used as a means to earn money for the company and a means for George Gey to be famous. Even her healthcare physician Dr. TeLinde used Henrietta as a means for expanding on his cervical cancer procedure of using radium. As Henrietta and her visit to Johns Hopkins was essentially her being used as a stepping stone for another person’s career, she was treated as a means to an end.
Henrietta Lacks Thesis
1020 Words | 5 PagesIn 1951, at the age of 31 Henrietta Lacks was diagnosed with cervical cancer. Henrietta was under treatment at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, where cells from her malignant tumor were removed. Neither Henrietta nor any of her family members knew about the tissue sample and nor did the Hopkins ever informed them of the situation. Unfortunately after Henrietta’s radiation treatment, her condition continued to worsen and soon she lost her battle to cancer on octomber 4th 1951. Henriettas cells left the Hopkins what they discovered to be known to be the first immortal human cell line.
Henrietta Lacks Discussion Questions
700 Words | 3 Pages30year old Henrietta Lacks underwent radiation treatment for cervical cancer at the Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore In 1951. During her treatment, George Gey the surgeon who performed the procedure removed pieces of her cervix without her knowledge and sent them to a lab. Her cells were used to develop the polio vaccine, used in the first space missions to see what would happen to human cells in zero gravity. Henrietta’s cells were the first human cells ever cloned, some of the first genes ever mapped. They have been used to create some of our most important cancer
Henrietta Lacks Without Her Consent Essay
663 Words | 3 Pages“Was It Illegal for Doctors to Take Cells from Henrietta Lacks Without her Consent?” How can you take cells from a human being and treat them as clothes that you’re just selling. In The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, Rebecca Skloot told the story of the woman behind the famous cell line and the fact that her family did not know about Lacks’ immortal cells until more than 20 years after her death. Some believe it was legal to take Mrs. Lacks cells, while others disagree and say it’s illegal. It was definitely illegal for the doctors and scientist to take Henrietta’s cells without her consent.
Henrietta Lacks And Ethics
462 Words | 2 PagesThe final violation of ethical principles, in the story of Henrietta Lacks, was the violation of justice. Without the contribution of Henrietta’s cells, many discoveries and vaccines, such as the vaccine that conquered Polio, would not have made their pivotal breakthroughs in biomedical research. Her direct and unknowingly, supportive contribution helped save many people’s lives all over the world. Unfortunately, her named did not receive the recognition it deserved, and her family never received any compensation for profits made from direct use of her
Immortal Life Of Henrietta Lacks Essay
919 Words | 4 PagesScientists and doctors made great discoveries with the HeLa cells of Henrietta Lacks. The family of Henrietta Lacks had to live with the aftermath of decisions made by doctors and
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