Thesis For The Immortal Life Of Henrietta Lacks

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot I. Meta Thesis

Henrietta Lacks’s family should have been immediately informed of the HeLa cells’ existence and been compensated for the use of them and the industry they created; the moral and ethical principals of consent and privacy, medically, have changed since the cells were stolen in 1951, and while neither is perfect, both have improved greatly.

II. Text Excerpts with Disscussion that Supports Meta Thesis

1. Dr. Gey had good intentions regarding Henrietta Lacks’s privacy, so when HeLa had spread across the worldand people wanted to know the woman behind the cells’ name, he told no one. But, at some point what was thought to be her name got leaked and printed in newspapers and

Skloot spent years researching Henrietta Lacks, and every source had the same singular fact: Henrietta was the woman behind the HeLa cells. Skloot was determined to fix this by finding the true story and sharing it with the world, to honor Henrietta. Skloot worked tirelessly to make sure her book was filled only with truths, and checked all of her sources meticulously.

3. Throught the book, there are hundreds quotes from primary sources including but not limited to, the Lackses, colleagues of Dr. Gey (the founder of HeLa cells), and Henrietta’s medical records. All of these sources are very credible and Skloot using them as quotes show credibility.

4. Not only does Skloot use direct quotes from primary sources, she also looked at countless outside sources. This book has quotes from lawyers, scientists, journalists, and many other professionals in a wide range of fields. Skloot also used previously published documents from credible sources: the Constitution, public court cases, medical organizations (AMCMA, TCAA, National Library of Medicine, HIPPA), and many books. These sources and more were used for direct quotes, to check her pervious sources, and solidify her understanding of the medical and legal topics covered in this

When doing research like the author of this book did, it is easy to get caught up in all of the information and forget it is from 70 years ago. What Henrietta’s doctors did to her is unthinkable now, but it didn’t happen in 2023, it happened in 1951, and back then the laws and acceptable practices were different. That does not excuse behavior, but it is still important to keep in mind.

V. Further reading/ Additional Information

1. Joffe, Steven; Kesselhiem, Aaron S.; Truog, Robert D. “Paying Patients for Their Tissue: The Legacy of Henrietta Lacks” 6 July, 2012 https://www.science.org/doi/abs/10.1126/science.1216888

This source offers a deeper insight into John Hopkins and their role in the taking of Henrietta’s cells. It also talks about how John Hopkins as a hospital, and Dr. George Gey himself made no profit off of HeLa cells, but companies outside of them did.

2. Hutchins, Grover M.; Lucey, Brendan P.; Nelson-Rees, Walter A. “Henrietta Lacks, HeLa Cells, and Cell Culture Contamination” 1 September, 2009 https://meridian.allenpress.com/aplm/article/133/9/1463/460899/Henrietta-Lacks-HeLa-Cells-and-Cell-Culture This source gives interesting information about HeLa cells, and how they contaminated nearly every cell line in the ATCC (American Type Culture Control). The ATCC keeps original samples in a sterile environment, and for many years, HeLa cells had been contaminating their samples without anyone