History of Medicine The HeLa Cells Essay - 901 Words

Introduction: In 1951, the first immortal cell line was created by a doctor at Johns Hopkins Hospital using tissue samples taken from a young, black woman named Henrietta Lacks. Her cells would come to be known as HeLa cells, and for a very long time, the owner of these cells was a mystery; even her family did not know about them. For years to come, her cells would be used in many important medical and scientific advancements. Over that time, HeLa cells would prove to be instrumental in developing a polio vaccine, gene mapping, and in vitro fertilization. They would even be sent to space to see how cells would react in zero gravity. Since the inception of this mode of research, peoples’ perception of what constitutes moral behavior†¦show more content†¦The art of medicine and curing diseases was not always approached in a scientific way. In fact, many advances occurred between 1919 to 1939, after technological advances allowed scientists to apply the scientific metho d to medical research. At this time, the ethics of using patients as test subjects either for new medicines or as samples for further testing were not considered. An extreme example of this was the Nazi’s using concentration camp inmates – including children – to run painful and invasive experiments. More modern examples are not so easy to identify as unethical, however. While amputating a leg to develop methods to deal with fractures and war wounds is obviously unethical, harvesting cells to develop a vaccine is not so clear cut, as the disadvantage to the patient is hard to identify. Coming from the various Nazi testing and especially the Nuremberg testing and trials, another code of ethics was developed, called the Nuremberg Code. Patient Consent and how it relates to Specific Testing: In the example with the HeLa cells, a great debate was raised when the book The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks was published. The debate centered around the lack of information of where the cells came from, who should have known about the original harvesting, and the lack of compensation for Henrietta’s family once the cells started generating income. Also discussed was the tendency of the medical community toShow MoreRelatedHenrietta Lacks : The Cornerstone Of Medicine ( Mrdovekeeper )852 Words   |  4 Pages wife and mother of five, is seemingly unknown around the world, yet her cells have created medical history. Her cells were taken without her or her family’s knowledge, yet those cells are considered the cornerstone of medicine (MrDovekeeper). Even though some people argue that scientists would have figured how to fight deadly viruses and learn about the human cell and how it works without her cells, Hen rietta Lacks cells have changed the world by helping scientists figure all this out. HenriettaRead MoreAdvancements in Medical Research Due to Hela Cells1458 Words   |  6 PagesAdvancement of Medical Research from HeLa Cells HeLa simply stands for Henrietta Lacks, a young mother in the 1951 who went to the doctor complaining of vaginal bleeding and discovered she had cervical cancer. Henrietta’s cells were taken for a biopsy and were found to be like nothing ever seen before; her cells were immortal. Her cancer cells double every 20 to 24 hours and have lived on for the past 60 years. Since HeLa cells were created, our world of modern medicine has been completely changed. WeRead MoreSince The Dawn Of Man, Survival Was Achieved Through Hunters1233 Words   |  5 Pagesfear of polio declined, but citizens were not made aware of the vaccines origin––from the cells of the African-American woman, Henrietta Lacks. Henrietta Lacks was an unsung hero of the 20th century; her cells optimized modern medicine by becoming the foundation for groundbreaking medical research. To properly understand the relevance of Henrietta Lacks and her immortal cells, one must explore her history. Henrietta Lacks was born on August 1, 1920, in Virginia, among her were nine other siblingsRead MoreA Woman Whose Cells Founded A Multi Million Dollar Industry1658 Words   |  7 PagesA woman whose cells founded a multi-million dollar industry and provided the world with treatments for diseases such as leukemia, hemophilia, influenza and countless others yet almost no one knows her name. Her true identity was in the shadows for years after her death in 1951. Little did her family know that she lived on through her cell line which is estimated to have a cumulative weight of around 50 million metric tons today. For years after her death no one knew anything more about her otherRead MoreThe Immortal Life Of Henrietta Lacks By Rebecca Skloot1039 Words   |  5 Pagesthe cancerous tumor. Henrietta’s cells, also known as HeLa cells, were taken from her without her consen t which became a breakthrough to modern medicine. HeLa cells are said to be rare, instead of dying they multiply and are currently still today being used to find cures to various diseases. On October 4,1951 Lacks died of cervical cancer. If â€Å"The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks† had a hero it would be Henrietta Lacks. Not only was Henrietta the hero, but her cells are as well. What is a hero? AccordingRead MoreResearch Papet1558 Words   |  7 Pages(Henrietta Lacks)HeLa Cell Lines Medical researchers use laboratory-grown human cells to learn the intricacies of how cells work and test theories about the causes and treatment of diseases. The cell lines they need are â€Å"immortal†Ã¢â‚¬â€they can grow indefinitely, be frozen for decades, divided into different batches and shared among scientists. In 1951, a scientist at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland, created the first immortal human cell line with a tissue sample taken from a young blackRead MoreThe Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks1076 Words   |  5 PagesImmortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, Rebecca Skloot follows the story of the famous HeLa cell line, introducing us to the woman behind these cells, the family she came from, and how her cells swept the field of science. This book tells the story of how race, poverty, and the practices used in the fields of science and medicine in the last 100 years has led to the many of the modern day innovations we have, all thanks to the HeLa cells. In 1951, a young black woman admitted herself into Johns Hopkins HospitalRead MoreA Woman Whose Cells Founded A Multi Million Dollar Industry1324 Words   |  6 PagesA woman whose cells founded a multi-million dollar industry and provided the world with treatments for diseases such as leukemia, hemophilia, influenza and countless others yet almost no one knows her name. Her true identity was in the shadows for years after her death in 1951. Little did her family know that she lived on through her cell line which is estimated to have a cumulative weight of around 50 million metric tons today. For years after her death no one knew anything more about her than theRead MoreHomework1572 Words   |  7 Pagesintricate story is described in the award-winning book, â€Å"The Immortal of Henrietta Lacks†. Published just three years ago, Rebecca Skloot tells the story of Henrietta Lacks, an African-American woman, who became the source of the first line of immortal cells. Henrietta was born Loretta Pleasant in Roanoke, Virginia in 1920. Henrietta lived a typical life for a poor African American of that time - growing up on her familys tobacco farm until her mother’s death. By 1950, Henrietta had married her firstRead MoreDo the Ends Ever Justify the Means?1295 Words   |  6 Pagesassignment when I was in high school that I had to complete for a grade. As I began reading I became particularly interested in Henrietta Lacks and the HeLa cells. In The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, Rebecca Skloot talks about Henrietta Lacks and how her cells were taken without her permission, and how her family suffered afterwards. Skloot shows how medicine and science were seen back in the 1950s compared to now. Henrietta Lacks was a â€Å"mother of five who died of cervical cancer at only thirty-one