Who is Henrietta Lacks?
- Isha D
- Sep 25, 2020
- 3 min read
Henrietta Lacks, an African American woman born on August 1, 1920, spent fifteen years of her life living in a log cabin which was previously the slave quarters on a white plantation owner’s land. Her mother died when she was four years old, and at the age of fourteen Henrietta had her first child with her cousin. She married her cousin at age 21, and moved to Maryland. She gave birth to 3 more children, her 5th child being born in 1950. Her life had been anything but conventional to today’s standards, however, this was not a surprising life for a black woman living in America in the 1900s. At least not until January of 1951.
On January 29, Lacks went to Johns Hopkins Hospital with pain and bleeding in her abdomen. Once there, the doctors diagnosed her with cervical cancer. While she was being treated, a doctor by the name of George Gey took cells from her cervix without her permission. Lacks went through radiation treatments for nearly a year, but unfortunately she died on October 4th, not knowing of the cells that were taken from her body.
George Gey studied these cells and realized they had a unique property: unlike most cells, which died in a few days, Lacks’s cells were more durable and could be kept alive for much longer. Scientists had been trying to keep human cells alive for decades but had always failed. Lacks’s cells, however, would produce a new generation of cells every 24 hours and have not stopped since. It is still unknown why this is possible.
Lacks’s cells have been continuously studied throughout the world for the last 6 decades. For a good portion of that time, no one really knew where the cells came from. They were called the “HeLa” cells, derived from “Henrietta Lacks,” and have been used for a range of scientific experiments, from the effect of radiation on cells to cloning. Her cells helped create drugs for herpes, STIs, Parkinson’s disease, appendicitis, and much more. They were crucial in creating the polio vaccine and were even sent to space to see what would happen to human cells in zero gravity. These cells became the lab rats for scientists to test revolutionary ideas on.
Although they were so famous within the scientific community, Lacks’s family was unaware that this cell culture existed until 25 years after they were taken from her body. And to the public, Lacks’s name did not get the attention it deserved until Rebecca Skloot, a white woman, wrote a book about her in 2010. In fact, many called Henrietta Lacks by the name Helen Lane because they did not know precisely what HeLa stood for.
In the last decade, many discussions have arisen about the morality surrounding the situation. Clearly, this injustice should not be let by. Although Henrietta Lacks may be dead, her monumental contribution to the sciences should be honored, her story should be a lesson to all, and most importantly, her family should be compensated. While her story is being spread, it seems to be more for profit than anything else. As mentioned before, Rebecca Skloot wrote a book called The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks about the origin of the HeLa cells, in which she got in touch with the Lacks family as well. However, the Lacks family was barely compensated for this book, a book of which well over two million copies have been sold. Following this book, a movie was made on HBO, with Rebecca Skloot following the production. Once again, the Lacks family themselves were sparsely compensated. Much of the Lacks family has been caught up in contracts they have signed to give information about their great-aunt or their grandmother, whoever she was to them. Lawrence Lacks and Ron Lacks, respectively the son and grandson of Henrietta Lacks, said the depiction of their family in the book and movie is inaccurate and it often infuriates them.
This clear inconsideration for the Lacks family is yet another example of the exploitation of black people. Even in modern times, when Lacks’s situation has had so much light shone on it, justice fails to be delivered to the victims. Rebecca Skloot, a white woman, continues to profit off of a black woman’s struggles. The time-old tale, a cycle that won’t end. The impact of black people in the sciences is buried under centuries of racism and bigotry, and it must be uncovered. It is important not only to tell the story of Henrietta Lacks and those like her, but also emphasize how they have been wronged to prevent injustices such as these in the future.
Sources:
Skloot, R. (2010). The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. Gale/Cengage.
Art by Selina Lu (ig: @catwholoves)
Comments