The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

This is a very thought provoking book on so many levels.  Henrietta Lacks was at Johns Hopkins Hospital delivering her child.  At the time it was the only hospital in the Baltimore area that would even consider treating African Americans in the 1950’s.  After the birth Henrietta complained about abdominal pain and heavy bleeding. She was diagnosed with cervical cancer and given radiation treatments.  The tumors were biopsied.

Then a very unique thing happened.  The cells from Henrietta now to be known as HeLa cells had the amazing ability to divide at an incredibly rapid rate. They are immortal because of their longevity. This allowed researchers the opportunity to perform many different types of “experiments” that had outcomes that have literally changed medicine.  These cells lead to the development of the polio vaccine and many treatments for fighting cancer.  As with everything in life there is a positive and negative side of the story.

Henrietta died but her cells live on.  While her cells are well known little is known about the woman herself.   Researchers as they always do when excited about a new break through, injected people with this cell line without their consent causing illness and in some cases death.  Their feelings were that they were doing it for the good of mankind. These experiments that they were doing for the good of mankind looked eerily like what the Nazis had been doing barely ten years before. Many companies profited from the HeLa cell while the Lacks struggled to make ends meet.   Skoot set out to find out more the Lacks and the research.  She makes every effort to try and present the facts without interjecting emotion.  That she leaves to the reader.  It is well written.