Henrietta Lacks
By
John C Abercrombie
Today is day 22 of 31 days on remarkable Black women and features a post on Henrietta Lacks.
Henrietta Lacks went to Johns Hopkins Hospital for treatment, while at Hopkins, cells were taken from her without her knowledge or permission and later used for medical research starting an entire industry. Billions of dollars have been eared using these cells and Lacks received nothing. Financial or even recognition of any type.
To see links to the 31 Black women in this year’s tribute 2023, click the link below
31 amazing Black women we should all know
So, what have these cells done to contribute to the advances of science. These cells unlike those that had been studied before were able to grow in a laboratory. This was a great advance since it was necessary to find cells that would live long enough to study various treatments. Other cells would not replicate themselves and usually died out within a day or so. The HeLa cells were remarkable in that they could replicate and some of those cells taken in 1951 are still viable and in use around the world.
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To see links to the 31 Black women in this year’s tribute 2023, click the link below
31 Amazing Black women we should all know
Many people may have heard of Henrietta Lacks by way of a book and movie that have given her some recognition for her outstanding contributions to the medical world. Born August 1, 1920, and dying October r, 1951 she has played a significant role in many ways that we will attempt to shed some light on.
Lacks sought medical care from Johns Hopkins Medical Center which was one of the few places where Blacks could get medical care. This sounds surprising today, but for much of the history of America, Black citizens have had limited access to such basics as health care even education.
While at Hopkins, cells were taken from her without her knowledge or permission and later used for medical research starting an entire industry. Billions of dollars have been eared using these cells and Lacks received nothing. Financial or even recognition of any type.
So, what have these cells done to contribute to the advances of science. These cells unlike those that had been studied before were able to grow in a laboratory. This was a great advance since it was necessary to find cells that would live long enough to study various treatments. Other cells would not replicate themselves and usually died out within a day or so. The HeLa cells were remarkable in that they could replicate and some of those cells taken in 1951 are still viable and in use around the world.
In those days, the naming convention was to use the first 2 letters of the first name of the donor and the first 2 of the last name, thus Henrietta Lacks or HeLa. In an attempt to hide the identity of or race of the cells, it was “leaked” that they were from an unknown person by the name of Helen Lane.
In the 1950s and 1960 polio was greatly feared as a disease. It was HeLa cells that gave us a chance to study and virtually eliminate the threat worldwide. There are some who have proposed that it was necessary to hide the race of the donor of the HeLa cells as some Whites would refuse to take anything that was in any way associated with a Black person.
We have also withheld giving credit to Tuskegee University which played a vital role in the production of the HeLa cells and had an outstanding record of Quality Control in the process. It is these seemingly “oversights” that deny institutions of the prestige that they so rightly deserve for a job well known. Without recognition we sometimes undervalue our HBCUs (Historically Black Colleges and Universities) Never underestimate the graduate of an HBCU!
The HeLa cells have led to work that has produced 3 Nobel prizes. Today the development of the HPV vaccine, in vitro fertilization and others have been advanced by this person.
We see that others have profited greatly from the use of HeLa cells and the general population has benefited as well.
The story came to light as researchers reached out to the family to study them further, not to give thanks or to honor the donor. It is actions that have been a call for ethics in the medical field. It is also these slights and profiting that had only increased the suspicion of the Black community about the medical field.
This should be a clarion call to the Black community to become more involved in the field of medicine on all levels. Doctors, nurses and all other related professions. We have a long history of miraculous contributions attested to by the other posts in this 2022 Black History Month Celebration on “Health and Wellness.”
The family of Henrietta Lacks has not been identified and is well known thanks in part to the efforts of Rebecca Skloot author of the book “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks.” It is shameful the way we have withheld health care from the Black community and others who have been marginalized in communities. However, it heartening to see the work that the Lacks family is making to correct these inequities.
It I also difficult to see the blatant racism that has been prevalent in this country for centuries. Denying people access to medical treatment as in the Tuskegee Experiment and failing to give credit like in this series on “Health and Wellness.” Or specifically in the case of Henrietta Lacks.
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For Black History Month 2020, we posted daily. These posts focus on the reality of Black life in America after the Civil War culminating in the landmark Brown v Board of Education that changed so many of the earlier practices. To see the posts, click here
For Black History Month 2021, we focused on Black Medical Achievements, Inventors and Scientists’ see those posts, click here.
This post is part of the 2022 Black History Month Celebration with the theme of “Health and Wellness.” To see the entire series, click on this link.
We also posted a 5 part mini-series on the 100th anniversary of one of the most horrific massacres in the history of America. Hundreds of Blacks were slaughtered and 10,000 left homeless in this largely unknown event. To see the posts, click here.
We also did a mini-series on the Schomburg Center for Research a most amazing collection of Black history and culture. To see this mini-series, click here The Schomburg Center A world class collection of Black History inspired by a 5th grade teacher who told Arturo Schomburg that there was NO African history. Nothing of value. Schomburg dedicated his life to proving that teacher wrong and Schomburg did an amazing job with his collection. Schomburg – The man who built a library
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Continue scrolling down for more amazing information, videos, books and value items.
The Shocking Experiments Done With Henrietta Lacks Cells!
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Cancer Diet
The time for prevention is now! The time to take care of yourself is now! use the link below
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The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
Number one New York Times best seller. Now a major motion picture from HBO starring Oprah Winfrey and Rose Byrne. One of the “most influential” (CNN), “defining” (Lit Hub), and “best” (The Philadelphia Inquirer) books of the decade. One of essence’s 50 most impactful Black books of the past 50 years. Named one of the best books of the year by The New York Times Book Review, Entertainment Weekly, O: The Oprah Magazine, NPR, Financial Times, New York, Independent (UK), Times (UK), Publishers Weekly, Library Journal, Kirkus Reviews, Booklist, Globe, and Mail.
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Understanding Cancer
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HeLa Cells: The Legacy and Misappropriation of Henrietta Lacks
The first 48 minutes or so deal with the incredible contributions of Henrietta Lacks and other information that has remained largely unknown. You will be impressed! On Friday, February 26, 2021, the Office of Health Equity and Community Affairs and the Program in Medical Ethics, Humanities, and Law at WMed hosted a traveling exhibit about the life of the late Henrietta Lacks, an African-American
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Henrietta Lacks – The Untold Story Henrietta Lacks
The Untold Story I really need people to understand the reason behind me writing this book about my grandmother “Henrietta Lacks”. For those that have never heard of her, she is the first human whose cell line was able to grow in culture, her cells were unlike any other cells, while other cells would die, Henrietta Lacks cells doubled every 20 to 24 hours. She has contributed to the medical field in ways that no other cell line has done. HeLa cells has helped with the polio vaccine, gene mapping, in vitro fertilization, sensitivity to tape, dental and even used in the cosmetic field.
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Food Steamer
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Rebecca Skloot on “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks”
Extended discussion with author Rebecca Skloot, author of the best-selling book, “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks.” Johns Hopkins University announced plans this week to name a new research building after Lacks, an African-American woman who permanently changed modern medicine nearly 70 years ago when it was discovered that her cells could live forever. These “immortal cells” have helped scientists produce remedies for numerous diseases, including the first polio vaccine, which have saved hundreds of thousands of lives. But Lacks’ cells were taken without her consent when she was a patient at Johns Hopkins University Hospital in 1951.
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Understanding Medical Education: Evidence, Theory, and Practice
Created in partnership with the Association for the Study of Medical Education (ASME), this completely revised and updated new edition of Understanding Medical Education synthesizes the latest knowledge, evidence and best practice across the continuum of medical education.
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Medical Apartheid
Medical Apartheid is the first and only comprehensive history of medical experimentation on African Americans. Starting with the earliest encounters between black Americans and Western medical researchers and the racist pseudoscience that resulted, it details the ways both slaves and freedmen were used in hospitals for experiments conducted without their knowledge – a tradition that continues today within some black populations. It reveals how blacks have historically been prey to grave robbing as well as unauthorized autopsies and dissections. Moving into the 20th century, it shows how the pseudoscience of eugenics and social Darwinism were used to justify experimental exploitation and shoddy medical treatment of blacks.
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The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks – A USF Faculty Discussion
In 1952 doctors took cells from Henrietta Lacks without asking. These cells launched a medical revolution and are still alive today. Her experience and that of her family tell a story about medical ethics, cell biology, race and poverty in the book, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot.
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Understanding Chemo Treatments
k=understanding+chemo+treatments&ref=nb_sb_noss ** HeLa Cells of Henrietta Lacks Rebecca Skloot and her best seller, The Immortal life of Henrietta Lacks, has created a lot of interest in the immortal HeLa cells that were taken from a 31-year-old black woman called Henrietta Lacks without her family’s consent at the Johns Hopkins Hospital at Baltimore in 1951. She describes the story of how Henrietta Lacks died and how her cells were sent around the world for medical research. She goes through the life stories of Henrietta and the Lacks family and the pain they endured when they found out about Henrietta’s cells. Skloot’s narration of the entire account is powerful, emotional, painful and even heart breaking. Her book has become a notable science reading for high school children and science undergraduates in the United States. And rightly so, Henrietta’s story is a case of medical racism, violation of ethical obligation, segregation, ignorance, poverty and painful American history.
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Seminar Series: HeLa cells, the Lacks Family, and Whole Genome Sequencing
Ruth Faden, Dan Ford, and Members of the Lacks Family — David Lacks and Veronica Spencer talk about the relationship between the Lacks family and Johns Hopkins
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Summary and Analysis of The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
Please Note: This is a key takeaways and analysis of the book and not the original book. Start Publishing Notes’ Summary and Analysis of Rebecca Skloot’s – The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks includes a summary of the book, review, analysis & key takeaways, and detailed “About the Author” section. Preview: The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks is a creative non-fiction book that explores the source of HeLa, the most commonly used human cell line in the world.
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Winfrey, Byrne and Goldsberry on “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks”
The name Henrietta Lacks may not be well-known, but her impact on the medical community is long-lasting. Oprah Winfrey, Rose Byrne and Renée Elise Goldsberry join “CBS This Morning” to discuss their new HBO movie, “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks,” and why Winfrey decided to take the role.
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Black Roots: A Beginners Guide To Tracing The African American Family Tree
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Finally, here is the fun, easy-to-use guide that African Americans have been waiting for since Alex Haley published Roots more than twenty-five years ago. Written by the leading African American professional genealogist in the United States who teaches and lectures widely, Black Roots highlights some of the special problems, solutions, and sources unique to African Americans. Based on solid genealogical principles and designed for those who have little or no experience researching their family’s past, but valuable to any genealogist, this book explains everything you need to get started, including: where to search close to home, where to write for records, how to make the best use of libraries and the Internet, and how to organize research, analyze historical documents, and write the family history.
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Henrietta Lacks has contributed as much to the advices that we all enjoy, yet we see a person who has been the victim of medical ethics in several ways. It is equally appaling that we see a country that will refuse the benefits that we enjoy simply because of the race of the donor that made it possible. It is time that we examine just who we are and not what we want people to think we stand for.