The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks Introduction

Henrietta Lacks Lived from 1920-1951 Born Loretta Pleasant Grew up on a tobacco plantation farm Married first cousin Day Lacks Passed away from cervical cancer Cancer cell line is immortal

Rebecca Skloot Born in 1972 A freelance science writer Learned of Henrietta Lacks in her bio class at Portland Community College Has an MFA in creative nonfiction and bachelor’s in biology Has taught creative writing and science journalism

HeLa Cells Oldest and most commonly used human cell line Self multiply every 20 hours More cells now than were ever in Lacks’ body Assisted with creating vaccines such as polio Still used and researched today

Medical Ethics HeLa cells were taken without Lacks’ consent or knowledge Her family was never informed nor compensated Cells have been bought and sold for profit Raises debate of ethics versus common good

Life in the 40’s Jim Crow laws were in effect NAACP was founded in the forties Many African Americans were taken advantage of Resulted in a great migration to big urban cities