HeLa

cells nicknamed “HeLa cells” to make several breakthroughs in medicine, including finding a vaccine for polio, cloning, and gene mapping. In Chapter 13 the widespread use of the cells were explained using this quote “The HeLa Factory…1951-1953 (set up as a massive operation to help stop polio; it would grow to produce trillions of HeLa cells each week; and it looks at the role and responsibility of African American workers at Tuskegee Institute for growing and distributing HeLa cells to fight…

medical research. The cells enabled researchers and physicians to develop antibiotics and cures to diseases. Cures and defenses were developed for influenza, herpes, leukemia, Parkinson’s Disease and many other prospects of human suffering (Skloot 4). HeLa cells paved the way for medical research in which the human condition could be improved. Other people’s suffering and discomfort leads to the advancement of medicine as well as an understanding of the human condition. The increased knowledge…

patients. Henrietta Lacks was one of these patients and unfortunately doctors made millions off of her cancerous cervix cells without her informed consent. Her cells, named HeLa cells, helped cure the polio virus and contributed to numerous other medical findings, but her and her family received none of the money earned from HeLa cells. Unfortunately, stereotyping based on race still occurs today and it has affected the lives of others terribly just like they did to Henrietta in the 1950s.…

On October 4, 1951, Henrietta Lacks died, but her cells, HeLa, continue to live today. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot (2010), discusses Mrs. Lacks life, her cells after she died and how her cells are still living. Success has been reached by advancing medical research of multiple vaccinations, such as a polio vaccine (Skloot, 2010), but Henrietta and her family have been disrespected by not being reimbursed for Henrietta’s contribution to medical research. Henrietta’s…

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks is written by a curious journalist, Rebecca Skloot, who spent a portion of her life learning about a woman by the name of Henrietta Lacks. Henrietta Lacks died of cervical cancer in 1951, but her cells lived on. One thing that was most shocking throughout this reading is the extent to which people will go in order to gain knowledge. It is surprising how many scientists, doctors, and other medical professionals treated patients unfairly so that they could…

sample…that would constantly replenish…and never die” (30). This definition is important because immortal cells are what Dr. Gey was first able to successfully create with Henrietta’s cells, which sparked a new age of medicine and the hysteria over HeLa. As Skloot continuously uses background information to defend the Lacks’ unimaginable situation, she is able to prove that it is possible to incorporate reason and logic into such a personal story. Ethos is also important because Skloot’s…

so for many years, the family was unable to take justice upon the people who decided to take Henrietta's cells without permission and turning it into a profitable business; since they knew very little about what was actually going on and what the HeLa cells meant for the rest of the world. Further expanding on the idea that since Henrietta's family was not educated enough due to poverty, they could never grasp the concept of what Henrietta's cells actually meant and the value associated with…

cells without permission and use them to make millions of dollars displayed an improper and unprofessional behavior. Dr. Gey vindictive actions lead him to discover the immortal cells, one of the most prestigious uncovering in science. Still today, the HeLa cells are used for research and over time, the cells have traveled nearly all over the world. The further use of these cells for research is immoral due to how Henrietta cells were obtained. Her race, gender, socioeconomically status…

For many, doctors and scientists are revered, their hospitals places where people can trust they will be cared for, where they can recover and heal. Scientists are heroes that spend their lives combating a seemingly infinite list of diseases and conditions, all for making a brighter, healthier future. Hospitals are places of hope. Through the basic description of their occupations, it seems as though such medical professionals can only be described as good citizens, so how is it that families…

care professionals. Through the lens of “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks” unethical scientific research is what could be derived from the violation of Henrietta and her cells for if proper scientific guidelines were in place the spread of the HeLa cells would have been minimized. Additionally, The WillowBrook Study case of 1956 involved the exploitation and abuse that health care providers imposed on young children who were diagnosed with mental retardation. Recently an unethical…