Immortal Life Of Henrietta Lacks Essay

Introduction

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks was an intriguing book. It not only discussed scientific thought but also other subjects as well. The book shows both the scientists point of view and the family’s point of view. In the scientists point of view the families and Henrietta’s consent was not needed. However; the family very strongly disapproves of their research ethics. The book discusses Henrietta’s contribution to science and of the ups and downs of research with HeLa. Scientists around the world used and are still using the cell line today and while they were essential to many experiments they also contaminated other projects. The book also shows the struggle of Henrietta’s family before her death and after her death. Henrietta’s

After George Gey and his team discovered that they were immortal, they were shipped all over the world to other scientists. (Skloot,41) This led to a standardized way of freezing and shipping cells. The cloning and cell culture was created with the help of HeLa cells. HeLa cells were easy to get so many scientists could use them. HeLa cells also caused scientists to realize that the normal human cell has forty-six chromosomes. In the Cold War scientists used HeLa cells to study how to reverse the damage of nuclear bombs. They were also used to study what happens to human cells during spaceflight and deep-sea diving. In medical science HeLa cells were very susceptible to viruses, launching the field of virology. They were also used to create ways to inject substances into cells without killing them. Many medicines and treatments including chemo therapy were tested on the cells. (Skloot, 97-101) While HeLa cells lead to many advances in science, they also caused some

This is probably because she was a baby when her mother died so she can’t remember her. Due to an incident with a fake lawyer she becomes sick mentally and physically. (Skloot,355-364) It took Rebecca a long time to contact her and even longer to earn her complete trust. When Deborah finally decided to help her it had to be on her terms. Deborah said “ If I’m gonna do this, you got to promise me some things,” (Skloot 366) She stated “First you got tell everybody to get her name right. She ain’t no Helen Lane. And second, everybody always say Henrietta Lacks had four children. That ain’t right, she had five children. My sister died and there’s no leavin her out of the book.” (Skloot,366) She lastly requires that the author learns what happens to her Elsie and Henrietta. Rebecca agrees and meets with her however; Deborah is still defensive to reporters. She shows this when she becomes suspicious and pushes Rebecca against the wall thinking that she might be working for someone (Skloot,283) The author and Deborah however; end up bonding over the story. Deborah shows affection by calling the author “Boo” and worries about her driving on the interstates alone. (Skloot,252) Sadly Deborah has a heart attack and never gets to read or hear the book. Deborah and Rebecca did have a lasting friendship before the death. The author even