Essay On The Immortal Life Of Henrietta Lacks

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks details the experiences of social injustice and humanizes a woman whose legacy has been defined by the power of her cells. Skloot seamlessly tells the story of Henrietta and her family’s struggle to come to terms with their interactions with the health care system and their mother’s story. In 1951, Henrietta Lacks, a Black woman from a rural town in Virginia, was diagnosed with an aggressive case of cervical cancer and treated at Johns Hopkins. During treatment, a tissue sample was taken from her cervix without her consent. The sample was for Dr. George Gey, who was able to grow Henrietta cells in culture and discovered that her cell line was immortal. Henrietta’s condition worsened and she died at the age

Misunderstanding regarding the details of the Tuskegee syphilis study is common, but the historical accuracy is not as relevant as the strength of the beliefs that formed as a result of the study7. Gamble (1997) argues that roots of the fear of medical exploitation dates further back in history when, the bodies of Black people in Baltimore were taken from their graves for dissection in the 1830s,three female slaves were subjected to an estimated 30 gynecological surgeries each in Alabama in the late 1840s, and folklore describing night riders who kidnapped Black people for use in medical experiments in

Transparency in research and ethical treatment of human subject living or deceased is a necessity to maintain the integrity of research3. The continuation of research is essential to medical progress and improving health outcomes4. However, it is important for future healthcare providers and researchers to understand the historically rooted mistrust in African Americans when a patient is non-compliant or unwilling to agree to a procedure. It is imperative that time is taken to understand a patient’s perspective and answer any of the questions regarding a treatment because this encounter is an opportunity to build trust in you as a provider and rebuild trust in the health care system as a whole. In order to increase the participation of minority groups in research, awareness, education, community engagement and patience are necessary to repair historical