An explanation of the life of Henrietta Lacks and why her HeLa cells are so important.
In 1951, a Black woman named Henrietta Lacks was diagnosed with terminal cervical cancer. While she was being treated at Johns Hopkins University, a doctor named George Gey removed cells from her cervix without her permission and later discovered that Henrietta's cells could not only be kept alive, but would also grow indefinitely.
For the last 60 plus years Henrietta's cells have been cultured and used in experiments ranging from determining the long-term effects of radiation to studying COVID-19. Her cells were commercialized and have generated millions of dollars in profit for the medical researchers who patented her tissue.
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The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
By Rebecca Skloot
https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/henriettalacks/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henrietta_Lacks
https://abcnews.go.com/US/henrietta-lacks-family-seeks-justice-grandchildren-sue-biotech/story?id=80539229
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-02494-z