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Henrietta Lacks Benefits

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Does saving the human race from extinction matter if you did not get permission to take the materials necessary? When an African American women had her cells stolen without her consent she had no knowledge as to how she was going to benefit the world, let alone the science industry. This woman is Henrietta Lacks. Her cells and her legacy will never be forgotten throughout the world. In The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, Rebecca Skloot presents the scientific progression of HeLa cells with study cases, such as the study of viruses and the development of the polio vaccine, in order to prove to the reader that HeLa was beneficial towards science and was not illegal in any ethical way.
Polio is an infectious viral disease that affects the central nervous system. The year 1950, a year before Henrietta Lacks died, was the peak of the polio …show more content…

In The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, Rebecca Skloot presents study cases, such as the study of vaccines and the polio vaccine to prove that HeLa cells have benefitted science for the greater good. The benefits of HeLa cells are shown when the Polio and HPV vaccine is talked about. The polio vaccine benefitted the human race by saving lives and impacted science by progressing further studies. Further studies included the HPV vaccine which gave scientists a vast knowledge on how cancer forms and how it is inserts insert into DNA. It is later proven that the study of Virology is the cause of scientists advanced experimentation with cancer and expanded their boarders with the topic. Without HeLa cells, half of the human race would have been extinct and scientists research would not be as advanced as it is today. HeLa cells have caused science to be impacted by being able to retain information through research and expand their philosophy on science. The scientific information presented is important to everyday comprehension which benefits the health of the human race. Imagine living in a world where HeLa cells are

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This was good for the world, thanks to Lacks cells, specialists can use these cells to help find cures for deadly diseases like

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The HeLa cells not only survived, they grew intensely and kept right on growing as much as their given space would allow. It seemed like the cells would never stop growing, thus came the label of the immortal cells (Skloot, 2010). HeLa cells became a very important part of scientific research, and Henrietta’s name became well-known among Gey’s colleagues. On November 2, 1953, the real name behind the HeLa cells was leaked by the press, but they got it wrong, Henrietta Lakes was reported as the source of the cells in the Minneapolis Star. Gey and Dr. TeLinde, the cervical cancer specialist at John Hopkins, decided to allow their story about Henrietta to be told in a more accurate account, but they wanted to withhold her name.

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I presume that it would be ethically correct to provide a compensation to Henrietta Lacks descendants. I am aware that Henrietta Lacks cells enabled scientist to encounter new discoveries such as the polio vaccine and other. However, the benefits of her cells does not outweigh the fact that Lacks family deserved some sort of compensation. It would be ethically correct because the financial reward could have accommodated the needs of her family. In the article “Family of Henrietta Lacks gains some control” states, “When scientists and doctors crave the key to the genetic code that unlocked treatments and vaccines, two family members will have a seat at the table where the decisions are made” (Curtis).

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The polio vaccine, the revolutionary steps regarding cancer research, and even obtaining the ability to put a man on the moon, were some of the greatest achievements of the 20th century. All these achievements were thanks to HeLa cells. Cancerous cells from Helen Lane. Or so that is all we knew of the origins of the cells before the early 70’s. The massive debate and controversy over Henrietta Lacks cells, their ownership, and their rights added more conflict and more worries to the mountain of distress and tensions during the Cold War.

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30year old Henrietta Lacks underwent radiation treatment for cervical cancer at the Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore In 1951. During her treatment, George Gey the surgeon who performed the procedure removed pieces of her cervix without her knowledge and sent them to a lab.  Her cells were used to develop the polio vaccine, used in the first space missions to see what would happen to human cells in zero gravity. Henrietta’s cells were the first human cells ever cloned, some of the first genes ever mapped. They have been used to create some of our most important cancer

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An example from the book of applied research is injecting these malignant cells into the arms of sick and healthy patients (Skloot, 2010). Another reason for the use of her cells is because the growth of living cells has been unsuccessful prior to receiving the HeLa cells. It could be the lack of mitosis happening in the cell, and the cells have not been able to reproduce, and create copies of themselves. This is another reason, why the doctors have been keeping a close observation of Henrietta’s children, even making up excuses to collect their blood, and keeping everything a secret. This is important to research because you can have a higher risk of getting a disease through your family’s genes.

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HeLa cells were a big impact on scientific research and currently still are, the use of HeLa cells should be promoted because of the good they have done. Henrietta Lacks was an African American southerner, she went about her daily life just like any other woman would but one day she began feeling pain in her lower stomach and could not bare it. After making a trip to the doctors she was diagnosed with cervical cancer, her cancer was treated multiple times with radiation but would not stop worsening. Eventually, the doctors gave Henrietta a “consent” form and then let her pass. Years on Henrietta’s daughter decided that the consent form she signed was not right because her mother did not actually know what was happening and the doctors sold

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Polio: An American Story written by David Oshinsky highlights the journey to the discovery of a vaccine which would finally put an end to the once mysterious disease, Poliomyelitis. The journey begins in Otter Valley, Vermont, as it was the first Polio epidemic to be documented in the United States. Unknowingly, it would take years after the first epidemic in 1894 to find a solution for this frightening illness. The disease dates back to ancient time, with cases describing the victims to be left with disfigured limbs and some eventually to be paralyzed. Oshinsky identifies that the disease appeared in three phases: endemic, which occurs in a sporadically within a group of people, epidemic, in which it affected many people and spread rapidly,

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Polio: An Eradicated Disease It was unthinkable for someone to contract polio if they were born in the 1960s or later in America. To that generation and after, polio was just another fleeting disease. People born before this time period are reminded how frightening the disease was, which debilitated thousands of people.

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The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks tells the story of Henrietta, an African-American woman whose cells were used to create the first immortal human cell line. Told through the eyes of her daughter, Deborah Lacks, aided by journalist Rebecca Skloot. Deborah wanted to learn about her mother, and to understand how the unauthorized harvesting of Lacks cancerous cells in 1951 led to unprecedented medical breakthroughs, changing countless lives and the face of medicine forever. It is a story of medical arrogance and triumph, race, poverty and deep friendship between the unlikeliest people. There had been many books published about Henrietta’s cells, but nothing about Henrietta’s personality, experiences, feeling, life style etc.

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Racism in The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks Imagine your mother, sister, wife, or cousin was diagnosed with cervical cancer and you believed the doctors were doing everything in their power to help her. Only later you discovered her cells were used for research without consent and she was not properly informed of the risks of her treatment due to her race. This story happened and is told by Rebecca Skloot in The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. Skloot use of narrative and her writing style enhances the understanding of the story. Henrietta Lacks was a young black woman who was diagnosed with cervical cancer at John Hopkins Hospital.

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The final violation of ethical principles, in the story of Henrietta Lacks, was the violation of justice. Without the contribution of Henrietta’s cells, many discoveries and vaccines, such as the vaccine that conquered Polio, would not have made their pivotal breakthroughs in biomedical research. Her direct and unknowingly, supportive contribution helped save many people’s lives all over the world. Unfortunately, her named did not receive the recognition it deserved, and her family never received any compensation for profits made from direct use of her

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The main ethical problems are that the cells were taken without Henrietta’s permission, and that her family never received reimbursement for Henrietta’s contribution to

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Jasmine Poole The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot is about a women who has cervical cancer that went to the doctor to get better. But instead of just getting better, the doctors took a sample of the cancer cells. The doctor used her cells to help other people with the same cancer get better. In this case, Henrietta and her family didn’t know that her cells were being sold all around the world to reporters/doctors.

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Scientists and doctors made great discoveries with the HeLa cells of Henrietta Lacks. The family of Henrietta Lacks had to live with the aftermath of decisions made by doctors and

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