The tissue issue
Melissa Del Mauro
Issue date: 2/4/10 Section: Op/Ed
Who is Henrietta Lacks? If you can answer this question, I'm impressed; if not, don't worry, you're not alone. However, within the next few months, I predict Henrietta Lacks will be as much of a household name as Harry Potter. This woman is gaining much-deserved recognition due to a new nonfiction book that's rapidly climbing the bestseller charts. "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks", by Rebecca Skloot, chronicles the life of a woman whose untimely death has provided the tools for some of the most advanced scientific discoveries in our time.
When Henrietta Lacks died 60 years ago, she left a legacy more vast and promising than anyone could have ever imagined, and one that most never knew. The cancer that robbed the 31-year-old of her life provided the means to create "immortal" human cells that were cultured and are still alive today. Known as HeLa, the total resulting cells that have been grown would weigh more than 50 million metric tons!
It's not just the fact that Lacks' cells are "immortal", but more so that the HeLa cells were vital in developing vaccines, cancer research and discovering the effects of the atom bomb. HeLa cells have also led to huge scientific advances like in-vitro fertilization and cloning.
You may now be asking yourself why you couldn't answer the question posited earlier as to who Henrietta Lacks is. If she's responsible for some of the world's greatest technologies, why is her name still relatively obscure?
The answer is unsettling to say the least. Lacks' immortality was unknown to virtually everyone. It wasn't until scientists working with the HeLa cell line started using her children (without their knowledge) to supplement their research did the truth finally come out. The Lacks family was astonished to learn that Henrietta's cells were taken without consent and without the knowledge of those closest to her. The HeLa cells have created a multi-million dollar industry, yet her family couldn't even afford health insurance.
When Henrietta Lacks died 60 years ago, she left a legacy more vast and promising than anyone could have ever imagined, and one that most never knew. The cancer that robbed the 31-year-old of her life provided the means to create "immortal" human cells that were cultured and are still alive today. Known as HeLa, the total resulting cells that have been grown would weigh more than 50 million metric tons!
It's not just the fact that Lacks' cells are "immortal", but more so that the HeLa cells were vital in developing vaccines, cancer research and discovering the effects of the atom bomb. HeLa cells have also led to huge scientific advances like in-vitro fertilization and cloning.
You may now be asking yourself why you couldn't answer the question posited earlier as to who Henrietta Lacks is. If she's responsible for some of the world's greatest technologies, why is her name still relatively obscure?
The answer is unsettling to say the least. Lacks' immortality was unknown to virtually everyone. It wasn't until scientists working with the HeLa cell line started using her children (without their knowledge) to supplement their research did the truth finally come out. The Lacks family was astonished to learn that Henrietta's cells were taken without consent and without the knowledge of those closest to her. The HeLa cells have created a multi-million dollar industry, yet her family couldn't even afford health insurance.