The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot Essay -- Medica

After her death in 1951, for six decades, Henrietta Lacks did not exist in the eyes of the society, but her cells did. How? Well, the answer is quite simple. HeLa Cells are the first immortal human cells. These cells never die and multiply every twenty-four hours. After spending 10 years to perfect her first book, author of The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, Rebecca Skloot essentially captured the life, the death, and aftermath of Henrietta Lacks’ life. With controversial issues regarding science, ethics, race, and class Skloot takes us on an extraordinary journey. From the â€Å"colored† ward of Johns Hopkins Hospital in the 1950s to stark white laboratories with freezers full of HeLa cells, from Henrietta’s small, dying hometown of Clover, Virginia to East Baltimore, where her children and grandchildren live and struggle with the legacy of her cells, Skloot remarkably shows the story of the Lacks family is inextricably connected to the dark history of experi mentation on African Americans along with the issue of bioethics, and legal battles over whether we control the stuff we are made of. The most intriguing aspect of this story is how is it that HeLa cells were used to develop the polio vaccine, uncover secrets of cancer, viruses’, and the effects of the atomic bomb, and help lead to important advancements for vitro fertilization, cloning, and genes mapping, yet, her five children are not even covered by medical insurance. Can’t the family sue for a profit? This question has been asked multiple times and in various forms, but the answer remains controversial. As Skloot addresses in her book, many lawyers point out that the family â€Å"cannot sue over the cells being taken†¦[but] they could attempt to stop HeLa research through a law... ... May 2010. Moreno, Jonathan D. "Lessons Learned A Half-Century of Experimenting on Humans." The Humanist Sept. 1999: 9. Questia. Web. 31 May 2010. "Nazi Neighbour; Nathan Gasch Moved to the US to Escape His Holocaust Memories but Six Decades on He Discovered the Man Next Door Was an SS Guard. at the Camp Where He Had Been a Prisoner." The Mirror (London, England) 6 Oct. 2007: 31. Questia. Web. 31 May 2010. "S. Fla. Hospital Called 'Most Dangerous' - Health News Story - WPLG Miami." Just News | Miami News, Fort Lauderdale News, Florida News, Weather | WPLG Local 10. Local 10 News, 14 Sept. 2009. Web. 27 May 2010. . Skloot, Rebecca. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. New York: Crown, 2010. Print. Williams, Patricia J. "State of Denial." The Nation 13 Oct. 2003: 10. Questia. Web. 31 May 2010.