Black History Month: Past, Present & Future (Henrietta Lacks)

FEB 1st - HENRIETTA LACKS (1920-1951) – Imagine if you will, doctors stealing your cells without your permission and without receiving any compensation. Though it sounds improbable, this is what happened to Henrietta Lacks.After being diagnosed with cervical cancer at Johns Hopkins Hospital in 1951, a sample of Lacks' cancer cells were taken by a researcher. Her cells, which later became known among scientists as HeLa, were unusual in that they could rapidly reproduce and stay alive long enough to undergo multiple tests. Lacks’ cells — now worth BILLIONS of dollars — live in laboratories all across the world. They played an important part in developing the polio vaccine, cloning, gene mapping and in-vitro fertilization. They have been used to develop drugs for treating herpes, leukemia, influenza and Parkinson’s disease. They’ve been influential in the study of cancer, lactose digestion, sexually transmitted diseases and appendicitis.The most disheartening part of all this is that to this day, Lacks’ family members have not received profits gained from the research of Lacks’ cells, nor have they received adequate compensation from the book "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" or from the 2017 HBO movie which starred Oprah Winfrey as adapted from the book by Rebecca Skloot. Acknowledging this woman’s legacy and contribution to the medical community is unparalleled and worth celebrating!