Henrietta Lacks was an African American woman born on August 1, 1920 in Southern Virginia. She is best known as the woman with the immortal cells. She was diagnosed with terminal cervical cancer in 1951 at John Hopkins University by Dr. George Gey. She died in 1951 at the age of 31. During her cervical-cancer biopsy Dr. Gey snipped samples from her tissue without the consent of the patient to run studies on the cells that were grown from the tumor. That is how Henrietta Lacks made one of the greatest contributions to medical studies today. Lacks cells were called “immortal” due to the fact that they divided unlike any other cells and scientists had an endless supply. With the discovery of the cells more studies, tests, experiments and research
