The Person Behind the Cells: Henrietta Lacks

The Person Behind the Cells:

Henrietta Lacks

By: Rachel DePratti

Biography

Henrietta Lacks was born in Roanoke, Virginia on August 1, 1920. When she was young her mother passed away and she moved to Clover, Va. There she met her husband David “Day” Lacks. At fourteen she had her first child and by eighteen had two children. In 1941, she officially married David in Halifax, Va and moved to Baltimore County, Maryland.

There she bought a house and had four more children.

Four months after her last child, Henrietta noticed a lump on her cervix and was having vaginal bleeding. She went to Johns Hopkins Hospital where Dr. Howard Jones examined her and found a malignant tumor on her cervix.

The doctor, without Henrietta’s knowledge or consent, took a sample and brought it to Dr. George Gey’s lab.

At that time, cell samples would die very quickly and would reproduce very slowly. This meant that a doctor or scientist had a limited amount of time to study the cells. It was very difficult to have cells long enough to study them or experiment on them. This resulted in little being known about cells. However, when the doctor collected and cultivated Henrietta’s cells something strange happened. Her cells reproduced rapidly and lived longer. This was unlike any other cell he had seen.

Her cells were the first ever cell sample in the world to reproduce fast enough to continue her cell line. Her cells were the first ever immortalized cell line. However, Henrietta Lacks died on October 4, 1951 at the age of 31 from cervical cancer.

Effect on the Medical Community

Henrietta’s cells were the first to be able to divide multiple times and not die. Now, scientists and doctors were able to take an in-depth look into cells and do tests. This allowed for multiple medical and scientific discoveries to be found. Her cells helped test the polio vaccine, helped develop the HPV vaccine, are used in multiple cancer studies, and are used in genetic mapping. They started being mass produced and sent around the world for research and experiments. They were being mailed to scientists in multiple different countries and were participating in multiple different discoveries. Her cells were the first to be successfully cloned in 1955.

Her cells were used in over 110,000 research publications over a period of 60 years. Because of Henrietta’s cells scientists were able to study the effects of X-Rays, treat certain blood disorders, research how Salmonella causes infections, understand HIV infections, and innovate single cell imaging. The cells were the first one to be sent up to space and studied on the effects of zero gravity. Her cells were used in two Nobel Prize winning research publications.

Her cells have had an immeasurable impact on the science and medical community.

The Monument

Henrietta Lacks was born in Roanoke, Virginia on August 1, 1920. When she was young her mother passed away and she moved to Clover, Va. There she met her husband David “Day” Lacks.

At fourteen she had her first child and by eighteen had two children.

In 1941, she officially married David in Halifax, Va and moved to Baltimore County, Maryland. There she bought a house and had four more children. Four months after her last child, Henrietta noticed a lump on her cervix and was having vaginal bleeding. She went to Johns Hopkins Hospital where Dr. Howard Jones examined her and found a malignant tumor on her cervix. This meant that a doctor or scientist had a limited amount of time to study the cells. It was very difficult to have cells long enough to study them or experiment on them. This resulted in little being known about cells. However, when the doctor collected and cultivated Henrietta’s cells something strange happened. Her cells reproduced rapidly and lived longer. This was unlike any other cell he had seen. Her cells were the first ever cell sample in the world to reproduce fast enough to continue her cell line. Her cells were the first ever immortalized cell line.

However, Henrietta Lacks died on October 4, 1951 at the age of 31 from cervical cancer. Henrietta’s cells were the first to be able to divide multiple times and not die. Now, scientists and doctors were able to take an in-depth look into cells and do tests.

This allowed for multiple medical and scientific discoveries to be found. Her cells helped test the polio vaccine, helped develop the HPV vaccine, are used in multiple cancer studies, and are used in genetic mapping. They started being mass produced and sent around the world for research and experiments.

They were being mailed to scientists in multiple different countries and were participating in multiple different discoveries.

cloned in 1955. Her cells were used in over 110,000 research publications over a period of 60 years. Because of Henrietta’s cells scientists were able to study the effects of X-Rays, treat certain blood disorders, research how Salmonella causes infections, understand HIV infections, and innovate single cell imaging. The cells were the first one to be sent up to space and studied on the effects of zero gravity. Her cells were used in two Nobel Prize winning research publications. Her cells have had an immeasurable impact on the science and medical community.

George Mason University

I chose the Peterson Family Health Sciences Hall because it is related to health sciences and the medical community. Her cells have impacted the industry so much that she should be in front of a health sciences building. I also did it so that the students passing by can look at the monument and learn more about her. I want people going into science and medical related careers to know about her and the impact that she has had on that industry. I think that students should learn more about her and not just about her cells.

The building also holds The Center for Health Policy Research and Ethics office. Using Henrietta’s cells had a big impact on the ethics of research and getting consent. This monument will reflect the work that the office is doing to help create ethical research policies.

Johns Hopkins University I chose Johns Hopkins University because it was at that hospital where her cells were taken and tested without consent. The people working there profited off of her and her cells. They sent Henrietta’s cells to different countries and facilitated experiments using the cells. The university is dedicating a new building in her honor and I want to put the monument near it. There is a beautiful park where the building is next to and I want to put it in the park. I want to put it there because I like that it is near her building, but also by itself. She is a person that doesn’t have to be defined by her cells. I like the idea that people can go to the park and learn more about her life.

The Henrietta Lacks Foundation Her family members did not know about her cells being taken and used until 1975 when scientists asked for the family’s DNA samples. Her and her family never received consent or compensation during the time that Henrietta’s cells were being used. The family still struggles to protect Henrietta’s privacy and to get compensation. In 2013, Henrietta’s DNA sequence was made public without the family’s consent. Because of that the US National Institute of Health (NIH) has a committee that contains two of Henrietta’s family members. Now, Scientists can apply to get her DNA code and the committee decides if they can. This helps protect her and her family’s privacy and makes sure that the codes do not get released publicly, but can still be used for research.