ipl-logo

Impact Of The Immortal Life Of Henrietta Lacks

1387 Words6 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Informed consent in healthcare

Lance Langel
11/18/14
P.8
Bibliography
Fahy, D., & Nisbet, M. C. (2013). Bioethics in popular sciance: evaluating the medica impact of The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks in the biobank debate .Retrievedfrombiomedcentralhttp://www.biomedcentral.com/1472- 6939/14/1
Due to biobanks, there has been many bioethical concerns regarding, disclosure, ownership, privacy, control, and consent. As an opportunity to engage an audience about these ethical issues, bioethicists have used Rebecca Skloot's book "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" (Fahy & Nisbet, 2013). To engage the audience, researchers conducted an analysis of relevant articles and transcripts produced by organizations and publications in the U.S. and in other countries (Fahy & Nisbet, …show more content…

Henrietta grew up in Virginia on a tobacco farm and was raised by her grandfather. When she was 30 years old she noticed a large knot in her lower stomach, and later found out it was cervical cancer. While staying a John Hopkins, doctors took pieces Henrietta's tissue from her cancerous tumor. Though they took the tissue, Henrietta nor her family gave permission for her cells to be taken (Miller, 2010). Dr. George Gey head of tissue-culture at John Hopkins could now grow a cell line that could help find a cure to cancer, because of Herietta's cells in her tissue. When he finally started growing the cells, he immediately started distributing them to other doctors and researchers. This article is much like the other articles I've annotated because it deals with the ethical issues of informed consent, and talks about Henrietta Lacks. If I was in Henrietta’s place and I was still alive I would sue John Hopkins and George Gey for stealing cells out of my body without my …show more content…

These cells were obtained in 1951 at John Hopkins University during a biopsy performed during her treatment for cervical cancer (Troug, Kesselheim, & Joffe, 2012). Also, this article describes the property rights of human tissue. There are many cases much like Henrietta's when it comes to right of human tissue. An, example of this is John Moore v. Regents of the University of California Troug, Kesselheim, & Joffe, 2012). In regards to the ownership of tissue, this article also, describes the investigator's obligations to individuals from who they seek for research (Troug, Kesselheim, & Joffe, 2012). These obligations include; consent, compensation for effort and burden, and rights to revenue stream (Troug, Kesselheim, & Joffe, 2012). This article is very similar to those I have read because it refers to informed consent, but in this article it goes more in debt into what informed consent actually means, and the actions that go with it. Informed consent is a very big deal to me, because I would want doctors to tell me what treatments they are planning, and if I was going to be part in a research

Show More
Related
1809 Words | 8 Pages

The tissue that was surgically removed was given to George Gey, head of the tissue culture research. Gey had been trying to grow malignant cells that were removed from the body, but had been unsuccessful. This changed the day Henrietta’s cells arrived in his lab. Her cells were labeled HeLa, representing the first 2 letters of her first and last name.

Read More
1178 Words | 5 Pages

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.

Read More
1033 Words | 5 Pages

Henrietta Lacks Honor Essay “The reason Henrietta's cells were so precious was because they allowed scientists to perform experiments that would have been impossible with a living human. They cut HeLa cells apart and exposed them to endless toxins, radiation, and infection. They bombarded them with drugs, hoping to find one that would kill malignant cells without destroying normal ones.” (58)”Throughout the book “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks” there are many examples of how the HeLa cell of Henrietta Lacks provided cellular information and examples that helped mold many cellular discoveries and experiments.

Read More
535 Words | 3 Pages

Having the opportunity to discuss the impact of medical research performed on Henrietta Lacks’ cells with doctor George Guy would be an experience like no other. Through the use of Henrietta Lacks’s cells, George Guy created an industry that would fuel research throughout the scientific community. When Henrietta Lacks was admitted to the hospital for radiation treatments, doctors took samples of her cervical cancer cells. Henrietta was not informed that one of the two samples was sent to George Guy, a scientist researching the immortalization of human cells. Guy soon realized that these cells were able to grow outside of the human body, they even grew rapidly.

Read More
700 Words | 3 Pages

Participation Portfolio 1 Asst 3: Henrietta Lacks Discussion Questions   Please answers each of the following questions, and be prepared to discuss in class   1. Please outline the history of Henrietta Lacks 's tissue cells. Who did what with the cells, when, where and for what purpose? Who benefited, scientifically, medically, and monetarily?

Read More
1263 Words | 6 Pages

TIC673 HeLa Assignment 2018 In one of the best seller novel, “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks” the author Rebecca Skloot describes about the first human immortal cells that lived in laboratory culture and about the story of black, 31-year-old woman from whom these cells were obtained. The cells which not only proved to be most important in the field of medicine but also brought medical revolution were obtained from her without her or her family’s knowledge leading to the most debatable ethical issues. The following essay would describe the cell’s contribution to science, how they were obtained and some of the ethical issues violated. Henrietta’s cells did much good for the society.

Read More
985 Words | 4 Pages

Maybe figure out how to duplicate the cells and use it for other drugs that can help people heal better. All through this research and testing Henrietta was left in the dark she didn’t even know that the doctors removed a piece of her cervix for research purposes. She didn’t even receive credit for her cells until much much later. No one knew about the HeLa cells except for the doctors because they were trying to keep it a secret so their project wouldn’t get shutdown by not informing the patient that they’re using their cells. Some would say that the doctors did the right thing and kept the identity of the cells disclosed because later on it led to saving so many lives.

Read More
1326 Words | 6 Pages

Lacks’ Cells Alive for Medical Industry Benefits The story of Henrietta Lacks in this reading is fascinating. By using Ms. Lacks’ cells, medical science has developed many cures. By one woman contributing her cells decades ago without her knowledge, on an involuntary basis, the impact has become mind-boggling. At the same time, it is disheartening and shaming to know that Henrietta’s family was unable to pay for medical attention for her.

Read More
656 Words | 3 Pages

Is it right for one's life to be manipulated for the use of scientific research or is it just a evasion on the person's privacy. Henrietta Lacks was a African American with cells that intrigued many people, she was diagnosed with cancer leaving her to be cared for at her local hospital, where she would later die due to the extremity of the illness. While at the hospital she was unaware that the doctors there were experimenting on her taking cell samples from her body, to help find a resolution to multiple diseases. The people who examined Henrietta manipulated her and the rest of her family to gain information on her cellular structure to be ahead of others looking to achieve the same objective. Henrietta Lacks cells should have never been evaluated because it's an evasion of her freedom, a danger to her personal health, and cause conflicts.

Read More
477 Words | 2 Pages

In August of 2013, Talha Khan Burki wrote “Righting a Long-standing Wrong for Henrietta Lacks” for Lancet Oncology. Burki’s purpose was to highlight the problem with the sequence data of patients’ cells (namely, Henrietta Lacks) being publicly released and to inform people of the privacy risks involved. Burki did a very good job at explaining what the issue was, what had been done about it and what needed to happen. Generally, readers struggle and become overwhelmed when they see a large sum of information all at one time. However, while this article provides the reader with several facts, it makes the reader think and Burki did a very well at writing in a manner that prior knowledge of certain terms or concepts are not critical to comprehending.

Read More
239 Words | 1 Pages

The cells that came from Henrietta Lack’s tumor were extremely strange, normal cells go through something called apoptosis, programed cell death, the cells from Lack’s tumor did not go through this process and continued to divided continually. Doctors and lab pathologists

Read More
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.

Read More
743 Words | 3 Pages

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.

Read More
649 Words | 3 Pages

In the Washington Post Blog Steve Hendrix asserts “ Those vaccines that could have spared Henrietta's Lacks were developed from her own cells”( Henrietta Cervical Cancer). Scientist believe that her cells are immortal because of the many diseases that she had. Hendrix explains “ Henrietta had human papilloma virus which is a sexually transmitted disease”. Henrietta also had other diseases that were inside of her. Scientist believe that since she had so many different disease that this is why her cells were immortal.

Read More
462 Words | 2 Pages

The origination of HeLa cells, used in biomedical research for a potential cure for cancer, had made many ground breaking discoveries in science; all thanks to one woman, Mrs. Henrietta Lacks. The history of Mrs. Lacks’s contribution to these studies raised many ethical issues concerning healthcare practice. In the short film, The Way of All Flesh, we learn how these cells were revealed by direct violation of ethical principles. During the 1950s, matters regarding informed consent practices were in their beginning stages of implementation.

Read More

More about Impact Of The Immortal Life Of Henrietta Lacks

Related Topics

Open Document