Yes, race had a very important role in Henrietta's treatment. Henrietta was directly impacted by institutionalized racism. Henrietta had to travel to Johns Hopkins, the only hospital in the area that treated black patients. Her family was not treated with respect and one wonders if her cells would have been stolen had she been a white woman.
Full Answer
Why did Henrietta Lacks go to Johns Hopkins?
In 1951, Henrietta Lacks sought treatment at The Johns Hopkins Hospital for cervical cancer. Extra samples of her cells were collected during a biopsy, a common practice at Johns Hopkins at that time regardless of a patient’s race or socioeconomic status.
What is the immortal life of Henrietta Lacks about?
It’s not only the story of HeLa cells and Henrietta Lacks, but of Henrietta’s family—particularly Deborah—and their lifelong struggle to make peace with the existence of those cells, and the science that made them possible. Unlock explanations and citation info for this and every other The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks quote.
What can we learn from Henrietta Lacks?
The problems of racism, classism, and sexism in America are crucial to understanding the narrative of Henrietta Lacks. A poor and under-educated black woman, Henrietta had essentially no say in her medical care during her life.
Why was Harriet Tubman kept at Hopkins?
This was the Jim Crow era. You know, the reason she was at Hopkins in the first place was because she was black, and there were not really many other hospitals around where she could have gotten treated. She also had no money, and Hopkins was a charity hospital.
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How has Henrietta affected and changed medicine?
Her fame was thanks to an award-winning book published in 2010 that explored how, in the course of Lacks's treatment for cancer, doctors isolated what became the first “immortal” human cells.
What treatment was recommended for Henrietta Lacks?
At the time, The Johns Hopkins Hospital was one of only a few hospitals to treat poor African-Americans. As medical records show, Mrs. Lacks began undergoing radium treatments for her cervical cancer. This was the best medical treatment available at the time for this terrible disease.
What is the impact of how Henrietta has been identified?
She is usually called HeLa, “the code name given to the world's first immortal human cells – her cells” (p. 1). The impact is that Henrietta is not identified as a person but by her cells' “code name” (p. 1), revealing that science is more important than the human being behind the cells.
What impact did Henrietta Lacks have on society?
Henrietta's cells were the first immortal human cells ever grown in culture. They were essential to developing the polio vaccine. They went up in the first space missions to see what would happen to cells in zero gravity.
When did Henrietta Lacks start treatment?
When Henrietta Lacks, a 31-year-old African American woman with advanced cervical cancer began to receive treatment for her disease at John Hopkins Hospital in 1951—1 of the only hospitals at the time that was willing to provide treatment to African American patients—a tissue biopsy was taken from her tumor.
What are some of the diseases that the HeLa cells have helped treat?
Since being discovered in the 1950s, experiments on HeLa cells have played a role in developing advances like the polio and COVID-19 vaccines, treatments for cancer, HIV, AIDS, and much more. About 55 million tons of these cells have been used in over 75,000 scientific studies around the world.
How have HeLa cells contributed to biology and medicine?
Scientists use HeLa cells to discover how the presence of the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) can lead to certain types of cervical cancer. The discovery that HPV can lead to cervical cancer paves the way for development of one of the first anti-cancer vaccines. This work later leads to a Nobel Prize in 2008 for Dr.
Why was Henrietta Lacks name not well known until recent time despite her contributions to medical science?
Her cells kept reproducing. Gey started his own cell line, which he named HeLa in tribute to Henrietta Lacks. Neither Gey nor his assistant revealed the name of the original owner of the immortal cell line, thus making Lacks' name unknown to the public.
How did what happened to Henrietta Lacks affect the way doctors interact with patients?
When Henrietta Lacks died six decades ago, she didn't know her cancer cells would live on and help scientists make thousands of medical discoveries affecting the lives of millions of people. They even led to a vaccine that can prevent the cervical cancer that killed her.
Why is Henrietta's story so significant?
Henrietta's cells have been used for decades to shape the course of modern medicine leading to breakthroughs in treatment of leukemia, influenza, Parkinson's disease, certain types of genetic diagnoses, cancer, and AIDS, and has contributed to the advancement of cloning, gene mapping, and in vitro fertilization.
What is Henrietta Lacks importance to modern medicine?
A Black wife and mother of five, Henrietta Lacks died of cervical cancer in 1951 and unknowingly changed the world and the future of medicine with the gift of her immortal cells named HeLa cells in her honor.
What is one ethical problem with how HeLa cells have been obtained and used over the last few decades?
9) What is one ethical problem with how HeLa cells have been obtained and used over the last few decades? they have been extremely useful there is a controversy around the use of HeLa cells. Henrietta Lacks never gave permission to have her cells collected or used in this way.
What was Henrietta Lacks treated for?
In 1951, Henrietta Lacks sought treatment at The Johns Hopkins Hospital for cervical cancer. Extra samples of her cells were collected during a biopsy, a common practice at Johns Hopkins at that time regardless of a patient’s race or socioeconomic status. Although Lacks, a mother of five, died, her cells were used to begin ...
Where was the Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks screened?
Darren Brownlee was one of over 2,000 Johns Hopkins faculty, staff and students who attended one of the pre-screenings of the highly anticipated HBO film, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, in Turner Auditorium and on the Homewood campus. “The movie is a ‘must-see’ story, leaving me with a core of emotion and appreciation ...
Why were HeLa cells used?
The cells—named HeLa after the first two letters in her first and last name—have been used to support advances in many fields of medical research, including development of the polio vaccine.
Is Johns Hopkins a bioethicist?
Johns Hopkins, and researchers and bioethicists worldwide, have learned a great deal from the examination of important bioethical issues, and Johns Hopkins is committed to ensuring the appropriate protection and care of medical information related to Lacks and her family. The medical research community has also made significant strides in improving ...
A Tough Beginning for Henrietta Lacks
Henrietta Lacks, or Loretta Pleasant if we went by her name at birth, lost her mother at the age of four in 1924. After her dad left her and her siblings, she moved to live with her grandpa and her nine year-old cousin Day Lacks.
The Lump
After Henrietta had her sixth baby in 1951, she discovered that she had a lump as big as her pinky finger in her cervix. She had to be treated at the Johns Hopkins Hospital, because not all the hospitals of the time were seeing African-Americans. It was there that she learned that she had cervical cancer.
Then the Cells Changed Everything
Before they gave her the radium, the surgeon took two samples. He removed a sample of healthy tissue and a sample of the cancerous tissue.
The Great Discovery
After Henrietta’s samples were taken, they were given to the research Doctor looking into cancer. His name was George Gey. Gey took the cells into his lab so he could grow a culture with them.
The Sad End
Henrietta did not survive cervical cancer. Within the year that it was discovered it had spread into just about every organ in her body. Her body finally gave out on October 4, 1951.
HeLa Shows What it Can Do
Even though Henrietta had passed away, her cells continued to live. HeLa, so called in abbreviation of her name, had begun changing science. Because the cells could be studied, they could be manipulated. And the results were amazing.
The Aftermath
Finally, in 1973, Henry and his family found out what they had been doing with her cell samples. But the extent was left out. And her family had no part in any of it. They had no say, and they were still living very poorly.
