Table of Contents
Title Page
Abstract
Review of Literature
Introduction
Henrietta Lacks
The Knot
Doctor Jones and TeLinde
Doctor Grey and Treatment
Birth of HeLa Cells
Henrietta’s Death
A Cure for Polio
Other Contributions
Immoral Practices
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. A woman, named Henrietta Lacks.
Henrietta Lacks was born on
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Unfortunately, by September of that year, Henrietta’s body had been taken over by tumors. She started receiving regular blood transfusions to expel the toxins from her blood. A short time after, Henrietta started to scream and wail from the pain within her body. Doctors injected her with morphine to soothe the pain, but the pains gradually worsened. On September 24, 1951, doctors discontinued her treatments and medications. On October 4, 1951, at 12:51 a.m. Henrietta Lacks died.
Shortly after Henrietta’s death, the construction of what would be called the HeLa factory began. It’s sole purpose, to end polio. In February of 1952, Jonas Salk announced that he had developed the world’s first polio vaccine, but couldn’t administer it until further testing. The National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis created by Franklin D. Roosevelt sought after the aid of Dr. Gey and his cells. A Gey knew that HeLa cells were unlike any human cell and with testing found out that HeLa cells were more susceptible to the polio virus than any other