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Henrietta Lacks Case Study

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In this case study we are presented with the case of Henrietta Lack. Henrietta died of cervical cancer in 1951. After her death the tumor that was remove from her cervix had an unusual finding. The cells fro the tumor continue to replicate despite them being outside the body. These cells that are now known, as Hela cells have become the first immortal human cell line that are able to replicate under laboratory conditions. These cells have been used for many research experiments. According to the National Institute of Heath, “Hela cells have also served as the foundation for developing modern vaccines, including the polio vaccine; understanding viruses and other infectious agents; and devising new medical techniques, such as in vitro fertilization.” …show more content…

If the doctor would have ask for permission than this would be consider morally correct because nothing would have been violated. If the doctor would of obtain the inform consent of Henrietta and explain to her that her cells could help the researchers with their research for certain diseases, I don’t think that Henrietta would of oppose. Notifying her about the use of her cells would be important because according to our text book, “ the main focus is largely on the privacy of genetic data on the safely of human subject research.” Since they would be using her cells for many different studies by having her consent not only would they have respected her moral values, but also they would of kept her privacy. If everything would have been done the correctly since the beginning, I believe that the government should have the right to regulate the commercial use of such genetic material and information. Mainly because of the risk of her cells being use for the wrong ethical reason, If the government has control over what the cells are bring used for then this will protect the cells from being use for the wrong

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This was something new to them and it hadn’t been seen before. The reason for being a discovery is that before the cells that had been cultured from other cells would only survive for a few days. However, with Henrietta’s cells they were able to isolate one specific cell, multiply it and start the HeLa cell line (Henrietta Lacks Biography (1920–1951)). They named them HeLa after her first two letters of her first name and the first two letters of her last name. These cells were the first human cells grown in a lab, and were used to conduct many experiments.

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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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Henrietta Lacks, an African American tobacco farmer from southern Virginia, was diagnosed with cervical cancer at 30 years old. During her treatment at John Hopkins Hospital, one of the doctors took a piece of her tumor without her knowledge or consent and sent it to scientists who had been unsuccessfully attempting to grow tissues in culture for decades. There is no explanation as to why, but her cells never died. To this day they are still alive and have been used throughout the years to great advantages in curing diseases. Henrietta’s cells have played a part in some of the world’s most important medical advances such as the development of the polio vaccine, cloning, vitro fertilization, gene mapping, and they even went up in the first space

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Born in Roanoke, Virginia on August 1, 1920, Henrietta Lacks would one day unknowingly be the reason for one of the most important cell lines in medical research. Henrietta Lacks became the source of HeLa cells after her death on October 4, 1951 (aged 31), cells which were the first immortalized cell line in history; immortalized cells are cells that will reproduce indefinitely under specific conditions. While Henrietta’s cells were and continue to be used to treat many illnesses, there was never any consent given from Henrietta herself, or any of her family. To this day, no portion of the billions of dollars made from HeLa cells ever found it’s way to Henrietta’s family. The medical ethics in the 1950’s are very questionable in comparison

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The Lacks Family E  HeLa cells were discovered over sixty years ago. HeLa cells have become the foundation to many modern vaccines and have been used in scientific research since its discovery. If one were to step into a cell culture lab anywhere in the world and open its freezers, there would be millions of HeLa cells in small vials behind its doors. As much of a remarkable discovery as they may be, many fail to recognize their origin. HeLa cells were not a creation made by man in a lab, but a discovery found inside a woman.

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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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Without these cells we would not have been able to successfully or humanly learn many of the things that we know now. These cells helped teach us about diseases, how to cure/treat them, and humans as a whole. These cells provided the human genetic material we needed in order to make discoveries without harming or testing on people. Although the way these cells were cultured in the beginning was very inhumane they stopped many more dangerous or inhumane acts from being committed in the name of research. HeLa cells were the base of many discoveries that shaped our modern science and

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The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks Doctors took her cells without consent and launched a multi-million dollar industry. Her name was Henrietta Lacks, a poor wife, mother, and farmer. Lack cells opened the door for many new advances in medicine. These advances include: the polio vaccine and nuclear testing. These cells have helped us to understand cancer, HIV/AIDS, and cells in general.

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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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They didn’t grow the HeLa cells for a good cause. I think that it was good that journalists wanted to find out the real woman behind HeLa cells and wanting to contacting the family. The public and Henrietta’s family should have the right to know that Henrietta is the woman whose cells have changed the world. When Henrietta had passed away, her children were sent away to live with Ethel and Galen. Joe received such great abuse from Ethel.

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847 Words | 4 Pages

HeLa has made a great contribution to the way that the world sees and learns about cells. The HeLa cells have a astonishing story behind them. This story starts with a women names Henrietta Lacks. In the book The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks Rebecca Skloot told us the journey of the Lacks family and pointed out many ethical problems throughout the book. The issue of race was what stood out the most to me as I was reading.

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Henrietta Lacks was a black tobacco farmer from the south who, in 1950, at the age of 30, she was diagnosed with aggressive cervical cancer. Lacks went to John’s Hopkins medical center for treatment for her cancer. In April of 1951, she underwent surgery to remove the larger tumor on her cervix. Henrietta Lacks, died three days following the surgery. Even though Henrietta Lacks died, her cells from the tumor have lived on and have made a major impact on the biomedical community.

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663 Words | 3 Pages

“Was It Illegal for Doctors to Take Cells from Henrietta Lacks Without her Consent?” How can you take cells from a human being and treat them as clothes that you’re just selling. In The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, Rebecca Skloot told the story of the woman behind the famous cell line and the fact that her family did not know about Lacks’ immortal cells until more than 20 years after her death. Some believe it was legal to take Mrs. Lacks cells, while others disagree and say it’s illegal. It was definitely illegal for the doctors and scientist to take Henrietta’s cells without her consent.

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1020 Words | 5 Pages

In 1951, at the age of 31 Henrietta Lacks was diagnosed with cervical cancer. Henrietta was under treatment at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, where cells from her malignant tumor were removed. Neither Henrietta nor any of her family members knew about the tissue sample and nor did the Hopkins ever informed them of the situation. Unfortunately after Henrietta’s radiation treatment, her condition continued to worsen and soon she lost her battle to cancer on octomber 4th 1951. Henriettas cells left the Hopkins what they discovered to be known to be the first immortal human cell line.

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