I read an interesting post on Boingboing, which I’ll link at the bottom of this post, about this woman named Henrietta Lacks who died in the early 50s from Cervical Cancer. Her cells were taken as samples before and after her death and were the first human cells to be replicated in a lab. Her cells have become now widely distributed in the medical community, and have even taken on their own name, HeLa. Apparently, until recently, her family and descendants had no idea. The organization that distributes HeLa cells is a not-for-profit organization, but the cells themselves have led to innumerable medical breakthroughs throughout the second half of the twentieth century. The Boingboing post is on a new(?) book that discusses Henrietta’s family’s reaction to this understandably shocking news and adds a human twist to the story. The comments on the Boingboing post are definitely worth reading as well.
What are your thoughts?
If you want to know what I think, check the comments on the Boingboing post. I’m Ozzzzzz (should be comment #27, though they insert the anonymous comments in after moderating them, so the non-anonymous posts always get bumped down after the fact).
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
