Scan barcode
A review by ajsterkel
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
5.0
Everybody should read this book. It's fascinating, and it brings up topics that society really needs to discuss.
This is a nonfiction book about a Black woman named Henrietta Lacks who lived in Baltimore in the early 1900s. She died from cancer in 1951, but that's not where her story ends because Henrietta is somewhat still alive. She had a rare combination of genes and diseases that made her cells hard to kill. Scientists were able to grow them in labs and ship them all over the world. The cells were nicknamed HeLa, and they're still being grown for research purposes today.
Experiments on Henrietta's cells taught scientists about cancer and viruses, helped create vaccines, and showed the effects of atom bombs. They were vital in creating cloning, in vitro fertilization, and gene mapping. The cells have even been to space. Research labs buy and sell HeLa every day.
The cells are interesting, but who was Henrietta Lacks? That's what the book is about. Henrietta's cells were taken after her death and used without her permission. Her children and grandchildren are living in poverty and have not gotten any money from the use of her body. Henrietta's grave doesn't even have a headstone. This all feels very wrong.
For me, the most interesting part of the book is the ethical questions it brings up. Who should profit from biological specimens? If you give a doctor permission to cut out your tumor, do you forfeit your rights to that tumor?
I couldn't put this book down. I loved learning about Henrietta and the people whose biological samples have made life better for all of us.
This is a nonfiction book about a Black woman named Henrietta Lacks who lived in Baltimore in the early 1900s. She died from cancer in 1951, but that's not where her story ends because Henrietta is somewhat still alive. She had a rare combination of genes and diseases that made her cells hard to kill. Scientists were able to grow them in labs and ship them all over the world. The cells were nicknamed HeLa, and they're still being grown for research purposes today.
Experiments on Henrietta's cells taught scientists about cancer and viruses, helped create vaccines, and showed the effects of atom bombs. They were vital in creating cloning, in vitro fertilization, and gene mapping. The cells have even been to space. Research labs buy and sell HeLa every day.
The cells are interesting, but who was Henrietta Lacks? That's what the book is about. Henrietta's cells were taken after her death and used without her permission. Her children and grandchildren are living in poverty and have not gotten any money from the use of her body. Henrietta's grave doesn't even have a headstone. This all feels very wrong.
For me, the most interesting part of the book is the ethical questions it brings up. Who should profit from biological specimens? If you give a doctor permission to cut out your tumor, do you forfeit your rights to that tumor?
I couldn't put this book down. I loved learning about Henrietta and the people whose biological samples have made life better for all of us.