Henrietta Lacks Pros And Cons

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. The origins of such an issue stem back to the late 40’s. Where Henrietta Lacks was diagnosed and eventually killed by cervical cancer. During the treatment that she received without charge, doctors collected

In an interview with one of Henrietta’s daughters, it is revealed that she was briefly taught about the immortal cell line. A cell line that led to all the breakthroughs stated above. A cell line that belonged to Helen Lane. That was all that the general public knew about the cell. Even a great number of scientists were unaware of the origins of the cells they worked on. Only that they came from Helen Lane. They believed in a woman that never existed. Now, as to where this character originated from, as the documentary The Way of All Flesh mentions, it probably dates back to when the cells were first collected. The culture was labeled “HeLa”. As in Henrietta’s initials. And somewhere along the line, HeLa cells came from Helen Lane. Whether this was done to keep Henrietta’s identity a secret or not, give credit to Henrietta Lacks, who was an African American woman during the 40’s, Henrietta’s identity was kept a secret. Apart from that, I have already mentioned the hundreds of innovations brought about by Hela cells. Only for Henrietta’s children and spouse to never receive any credit, or compensation for that matter. The Lacks family has paid large amounts for medical coverage and