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Review Of Immortal Life Of Henrietta Lacks By Rebecca Skloot

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In the “Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks”, Rebecca Skloot discusses two main issues of the medical research in the 20th century America, which are pertinent to people all around the modern world: class difference, especially racism and ethics of medical research, especially non-observance of consent.
Racism is frequently addressed in this reading. Between Henrietta’s house and John Hopkins hospital, there were many reputable medical centers but she was not allowed to visit any of these because they were set up for the treatment of whites. Even in John Hopkins, there was a separate, inferior ward for colored patients. Only because of being black, she was deprived of the standard medication facilities. Extensive racism has resulted in generic …show more content…

Professor Rahma stated in class that her graduate class only had 3 black students suggesting how less developed African Americans are. We studied in the “Cartography” course that redlining prevails in America, which means that there are separate residential areas for whites and colored with far expensive than usual houses for blacks in the region of whites, essentially restricting the access of some areas to a special class of people and creating a demarcation line based on ethnicity. Gulraiz khan, from his experience, told us that the white police used to socially harass black shop owners. This is neither Clover nor Turner Station, it is New York City. As a consequence, they closed their shops, sometimes …show more content…

Despite being considered a blessing for science and the entire human race, what advantage did Henrietta’s cells provided her, her family and her race? The contribution of Henrietta dispensed no material benefits, not even any recognition or gratitude for her family. Instead, scientists and news reporters bombarded them with a series of inquiries. How ironic it is that the white scientists who considered Henrietta unworthy of living utilize her cells extensively in their research? How is it even conceivable that Henrietta’s cells became more popular than her? Scientists were only interested in the remunerative HeLa cells irrespective of who it came

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    What could not have possibly been imagined was how this could ultimately affect the family of Henrietta Lacks. HeLa cells were unlike any other cells. They grew in mass quantities, and continued to multiply and grow in culture whereas other human cells stopped. This eventually lead to interest in the Lacks family and their genetics. Some family members were afraid for their medical health and what would happen to their genetic material if they went to the doctor.

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    Dr. George Otto Gey Rebecca Skloot writes in The Life of Henrietta Lacks, part two “Death” how she was able to contact the family and describes the medical research on HeLa cells. Rebecca Skloot has a hard time getting a hold of the family since trust is a big issue. To illustrate, since Henrietta Lacks cell are legendary in the medical and science community the Lacks family been bombarded with people trying to get information about Henrietta. Because of this, Rebecca, had to first gain the trust of the family before she will be able to talk to the family. Scientist and doctor used Henrietta’s cells on animals and people to study the effects of the cancer cells and gain new knowledge.

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    “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks” is a book by Rebecca Skloot journaling the story of the title woman and how her “immortal” cells have impacted science. The book starts out with a word from the author Skloot, where she recounts how she got involved in Henrietta’s story. Chapter one begins with Henrietta going to the doctors at John Hopkins on January 29th 1951 to get tested for a “knot” she felt inside her. The 1st doctor she went to couldn’t identify the cause and recommended she go to John Hopkins hospital. John Hopkins was not only one of the top hospitals at the time, it was also the only nearby major hospital that treated black patients.

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    As soon as Gey realized what he had discovered he ordered a large factory to be built to mass produce HeLa cells, its main purpose was to discover a cure for Polio (Skloot, Pg. 93), but not only did it provide aid in the medical world, but companies such as cosmetic corporations could test the effects of their makeup and other cosmetics on cell health (Skloot, Pg. 102). The possibilities of research with HeLa cell were endless, anything from the research on atomic radiations effect on cells and how to reverse the damage, to the discovery of cells being able to live on after the extraction of their nucleus, and even the vast amount of studies of chemotherapy drugs, hormones, vitamins, and environmental stress proved the importance of HeLa cells in modern research (Skloot, Pg. 102). For the first time ever, scientists were able to properly identify the correct number of chromosomes and map them out, this further lead to the ability of being able to diagnose diseases where individuals had an excess or lack of chromosomes such as Trisomy 21 or Klinefelter syndrome (Skloot, Pg. 100). The science world had finally found a way to overcome the expense and strenuous procedures to obtain cell subjects, scientist could test the effect of gravity, the pressure of deep sea diving by spinning the cells in a centrifuge (Skloot,

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    When doing research like the author of this book did, it is easy to get caught up in all of the information and forget it is from 70 years ago. What Henrietta’s doctors did to her is unthinkable now, but it didn’t happen in 2023, it happened in 1951, and back then the laws and acceptable practices were different. That does not excuse behavior, but it is still important to keep in mind. V. Further reading/ Additional Information 1.

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  • The Immortal Life Of Henrietta Lacks Essay

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    The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks is at once a biography, a work of science journalism, and a book about the interconnected topics of ethics, justice, and racism. Henrietta Lacks, an African-American woman who died from cervical cancer in 1951, was the source of the so-called HeLa cell line, which is “omnipresent” (Skloot, 2010, p. 24) in modern science. The HeLa cell line was derived from Henrietta Lacks’ cancerous tumor, which, against the wishes of Henrietta’s family was taken from her corpse and has been used for prolific and lucrative medical research for over seven decades (Skloot, 2010). Skloot (2010) described The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks as “a biography of both the cells and the woman they came from—someone’s daughter, wife, and mother” (pp. 25-26). While the HeLa cells are ubiquitous in research, the woman from whom they came is, at best, a footnote in biological or medical textbooks.

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    Racism in The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks Imagine your mother, sister, wife, or cousin was diagnosed with cervical cancer and you believed the doctors were doing everything in their power to help her. Only later you discovered her cells were used for research without consent and she was not properly informed of the risks of her treatment due to her race. This story happened and is told by Rebecca Skloot in The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. Skloot use of narrative and her writing style enhances the understanding of the story. Henrietta Lacks was a young black woman who was diagnosed with cervical cancer at John Hopkins Hospital.

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