I am going to post this under the category of more things I don’t know but should. I had never heard of Henrietta Lacks before. If you are a scientist, you probably know who she was. If you are like me, you have no idea who she was and why she is important today. I saw an ad for a book about her and I wondered about her. The book is titled, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot, if you’d like to read it. Looking at reviews of it on Amazon, it must be a good read. This is such an interesting story. She was a young black woman with cervical cancer who died in 1951. Some of her cancer cells were taken from her prior to her death and they are still living today. Prior to this cancer cells only lived a short time outside of the body. Henrietta’s cancer cells were unique and this is why she is such an important part of the scientific community. This video explains her life fairly well in a very short form.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRrNjHYxP_o
In 1976 a team of scientists wanted to study her family. The family didn’t know about their mother’s cancer cells, the line called Hela. It makes me wonder what else is being done without our knowledge for science. It just doesn’t seem right to me that companies have profited from the sale of Hela and her family has members that don’t even have medical coverage. Her cells have transformed modern medicine. There is a documentary here that I suggest watching as it is fascinating.
http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/the-way-of-all-flesh/
Henrietta’s cells were used without her knowledge. After her death, her cells were used without her family’s knowledge as well. I find all of this morally troubling but also fascinating for the research that has been done from her cells. My sister, Colleen, died of ovarian cancer. A cure has never been found. However, there are many things that have been accomplished because of the study of Hela cells. You can read about them here.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2010/jun/23/henrietta-lacks-cells-medical-advances
Henrietta became a scientific heroine. In Atlanta, October 11th is her special day! Her contribution to science is immeasurable. This has to make anyone wonder what else is being studied without our knowledge. If you watch the video, you will see how her cells seemed to just multiply and live on. It is rather scary how her cells ended up in research without the scientists understanding exactly how it happened. It reminded me of my nephew, Will, who is a scientist. I remember him talking about labs and how some are just not sterile.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated on April 4th, 1968 in Memphis where he had gone to stand with sanitation workers who wanted the right to collectively bargain. Tomorrow there will be many rallies for labor across this nation. We all need to stand together and support labor. I suggest thinking of Henrietta on this day as well. I’m sure Dr. King would be appalled at how she was used by a system that chooses to allow big business to profit by the use of her cancer cells. Some may think that it is fine. However, in my mind, the fact that pharmaceutical companies are still profiting off her Hela cells is just wrong. A product can have a patent and people get money for their discoveries. It seems very strange to me that this black woman and her family were treated the way they were while companies still sell her cells. If nothing else, they should get free medical care for life.