Jonathan AIspuro

5/30/19
Henrietta Lacks 

The relationship between a medical professional doctor, nurse, i.e) and a patient has

developed stronger throughout time ever since the release of Henrietta’s cells into the area of

science and the medical field / the making of HeLa factories in the year of 1951(Butanis). The

year being the same year of Henrietta’s death. Not too long ago, during the bringing of HeLa

cells, doctors and medical researchers figured out enough of her the HeLa cells to be able to

create vaccines, cures and vice versa. Thus, making Henrietta Lacks other wise known as the

“Mother of Modern Medicine” and her HeLa cells make her the most influential American. The

creation of these medications caused many to live longer and healthier lives. In spite of this, the

need for more vials of HeLa cells and other patients / humans to experiment on caused many

problems. The problem with this was that the patients / humans used on the experiments did not

know they were being used at all and if they did know, they were not told the full truth. The

reason they did not know was because, science / medical researchers were afraid medical

advancement would slow down, if the ones being experimented on said no due to an informed

consent about what will occur during the experiment. Which is a central idea that Skloot unfolds

as an analysis in the text “From the immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks”. The central idea being,

patient’s privacy and informed consent NOT hindering medical advancement. Nethertheless, the

introduction of these cells brought many important findings in the medical field. Even though, it

meant telling lies from the doctors/researchers point of view. .

All humans have told lies at some point in their life. Sometimes they could be little white

lies or they can be huge, life-damaging lies. Which is what researchers and doctors are at risk

for. They risked the life of others in order to get results done from an experiment. The lies were
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Henrietta Lacks 
patients thinking they were getting cured for a sickness that they had. Like Henrietta Lacks and

her sickness of cervical cancer. In page 164, Day ( David Lacks / Henrietta’s husband) quotes “I

didn’t sign no papers… I just told them they could do a topsy. Nothing else. Them doctors never

said nothing about keeping her alive in no tubes or growin no cells.” This quote supports the

claim made that patient privacy and informed consents does not hinder medical advancement by

the quote meaning that the doctors who were “ taking care of “ Henrietta lacks were doing more

than what they were asked for ( help cure Henrietta of her cancer). The doctors took advantage

of Day’s consent to cure her and used the consent to take tissues and cells from Henrietta. Which

the text in page 2 states, that Henrietta’s cells (that were taken without permission) helped to

develop “the most important advances in medicine” and Henrietta did not even know this. All

she knew was that they were trying to “cure” her of cervical cancer.

Before patients and humans had full medical constitutional rights over what will happen

to them and their bodies, doctors and researchers took advantage at the fact that patients and

citizens did not know what can / can’t happen to them. For example, in the chapter of the “Night

Doctors” the section of the story would speak about how doctors would go in black

neighbourhoods during the night and kidnap people for experimentation. In page 165. Day,

Bobbette, and sonny had a conversation about how doctors use to snatch people “off the street”

when they were little kids unless they were “on the steps” of their house. This quote /

conversation helps to support the claim made above, by the quote meaning informing that

consent and the privacy of not only patients, but citizens as well, did not stop the medical field to

keep on advancing. Due to people being taken for experiments. Where the outcome should be
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Henrietta Lacks 
results of some type to help researchers understand sicknesses and the human body more. This

practice became a short impact on society later in the years with more laws/rule being set into

play on what to do as a doctor/researchers.

Speaking about the youth, the HeLa cells have the property of developing new cells

which can stay young. A scientist by the name of Gregg Morin hypothesized that an enzyme

found in cancer cells are also how embryonic cells replicate. This was later proven correct 5

years later in 1996. These were found in human embryos which is the cause of the rapid growth (

5 Important 2017). This long term impact helped improve the lives of many around the world.

To this day they are still duplicating itself into new younger cells. The amount of newer cells

help for testing purposes on experimental treatments. The eternal youth these cells hold can help

the human race achieve immortality or at least achieve a longer lifespan. More studies are still

being done to this day. Improving on the knowledge of cellular data. Usually the cells at birth

would have stopped replicating at an exponential rate and would later slow down in the lifespan

of an average human. However, the HeLa cells do not do this because of this finding the

understanding of the beginning of cells at birth in human. Further emphasizing on the possibility

that keeping this trait after birth can lead to more humans living longer. This can affect our

population on a global scale with more being learned later in the years to come.

The claim previously spoken of earlier in this essay can be argued with, that even though

patients and humans were lied to about what will happen to them in experiments, or about

getting lied to for being cured of some type of sickness, doctors and researchers still needed an
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Henrietta Lacks 
informed consent. Even if the informed consent did not tell the full truth or only told the half

truth. The informed consent gave the illusion to patients that the doctors and researchers were

injecting them with medicine. When in reality the doctors or researchers were either taking

something from them or injecting them with another type of sickness to see what the outcome

would be. In page 182, the text quotes; “Hsu hadn’t said anything about testing the children for

cancer. There was no such thing as a ‘cancer test’ ”. This quote helps to support the counterclaim

that informed consent and patient privacy ​does ​hinder medical advancement, by the quote

meaning that the doctors and researchers needed some way to get permission from patients in

order to be able to inject them with things or to take away something from them. And if patients

did not sign the informed consent, doctors / researchers can not continue their hidden research.

Thus medical advancement is slowed down. If medical advancements were slow down the then

many problems would occur. For instance, the creation of the Polio vaccine would have taken

more time to create since the cells tested on happened to be the HeLa cells . Jonas Salk would

not have the funding to test on other animals such as apes (5 Important 2017). These cells

impacted the work of one man which in turn impacted many lives later on in the future.

The family of the Henrietta had taken notice of the HeLa cells without any consent

towards the usage. How the businesses had profited of these HeLa cells had not couporated with

the family on the use of these cells. However, the outcome of the none compensation they

received is that all the studies of HeLa cell research have improved with easier/faster findings.

The lawsuit was not been filed. It has been considered by the family for them to sue John

Hopkins University. Then later going for McDaniels which is a pharmaceutical company. Both
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Henrietta Lacks 
these lawsuit do not go into fruition ( Erin 2017). This can be looked at as selfish since the

findings that have come from the company's usage of the cells have impacted many live. The

family wanting her estate and payment for the cells does not set a good look for them.

On the contrary, the family wanting recognition for the cells is understandable. Wanting

the consent that was never given to Henrietta who brought many advancements to the medical

field. The situation presented in Henrietta’s case can be seen as being used or misleading for

personal gain. The family could have had better lives and understand what made Henrietta

special/interesting. Not leading to the charges that were considered upon the companies or

researchers using the HeLa cells. More HeLa cells could have been obtained if the truth was told

to Henrietta. This problem could have been avoidable and many more advancements in the

medical field could have happened. Henrietta believed she was being treated for her cervical

cancer. Instead she was not being treated on her cervical cancer but being taken advantage or

misled for her cells. The reason of this finding of HeLa being hidden to Henrietta can be

profoundingly poor. In the sense of telling her the reason of gaining the cells would not have

slowed down the medical research. It would have instead been more beneficial for the family and

the researchers. With more wealth for the family and Henrietta live could have been prolonged if

properly treated instead of just taking the cells. With more breakthroughs on discovering the

mysteries of the HeLa cells.

The idea of it being able to slow down the process is absurd. It is not a logical decision

for not telling her and her family of the true reason of acquiring the cells. There are many things
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Henrietta Lacks 
in the world that slow down one another. But in the medical field. Nothing is slowed down.

Informed consent and the privacy of patients can not slow down medical advancement. For not

only doctors, but researchers and volunteers from experiments all want something out of the

results. The story told by Rebecca Skloot has the importance of giving consent to a woman

named Henrietta Lacks. They want to prove themselves good to the world by giving themselves

up and releasing themselves of their own privacy, they want money out of the results, or they

may be just curious about things. Like illnesses. Point of this essay is, informing the reader of

my person’s life events that changed many later on for years to come. The situations she had no

idea she was in. Dealing with a type of cancer, family struggles, taken advantage of, and helping

others before/after death is what sets her apart from others. Showing that she can be represented

in what families/people dealt with in the past and/or the present. While still making

advancements in medicine can inspire people to do better. This is why Henrietta Lacks is the

most influential american.