The Immortal Woman Behind Modern Medical Breakthroughs

    Henrietta Lacks was born as Loretta Pleasant on August 1, 1920 in Roanoke, Virginia, USA. Though it’s unclear when she began using the name Henrietta, she later became widely known by it. She was a Black woman whose life story, largely unknown during her lifetime, became one of the most important and ethically significant stories in modern medicine. Henrietta’s mother died when Henrietta was just four years old, and she was sent to live with her grandfather in Clover, Virginia, where she worked on a tobacco farm. Life in rural Virginia was hard, especially for Black families facing racial and economic hardships in the segregated South.

   Henrietta’s journey began in 1941 when she married David “Day” Lacks, her cousin, and together they moved to Turner Station, a working-class Black community outside of Baltimore, Maryland. They went on to have five children together. In January 1951 at the age of 30, Henrietta visited the Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore (one of the few hospitals that treated Black patients at the time) complaining of vaginal bleeding. She was diagnosed with an aggressive form of cervical cancer. During her treatment, doctors took two samples from her cervix, one from the tumor and one from healthy tissue without her knowledge or consent, which was not legally required at the time. These samples were given to Dr. George Gey, a researcher at Johns Hopkins who had been attempting to grow human cells outside the body for years. Unlike other samples that quickly died, Henrietta’s cancer cells didn’t just survive, they multiplied rapidly.

 

    Immediately her cells became known as HeLa, an abbreviation of her name. They were the first immortal human cell line, meaning they could divide indefinitely in a laboratory setting under the right conditions. This was a monumental breakthrough, especially for this time. HeLa cells were soon shared with scientists around the world. Henrietta’s cells were even sent into space to study the effects of zero gravity on human cells. Her cells have been used in countless medical advances, including:

• The development of the polio vaccine by Jonas Salk

• Research into cancer, HIV/AIDS, and genetics

• The study of radiation and toxic substances

• The development of in vitro fertilization (IVF)

• Research in cloning and gene mapping, including the Human Genome Project

   Henrietta Lacks died just a few months after her diagnosis, on October 4, 1951, at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. She was only 31 years old. She had endured extreme pain due to the progression of her cancer, which had spread throughout her entire body. She was buried in an unmarked grave in Clover, Virginia, on the property of her family. The exact location of her grave remains unknown, though a headstone was placed near where she is believed to rest years later. For decades, Henrietta’s family had no idea her cells were being used in scientific research. Her story came to national attention in 2010 with the publication of “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks” by Rebecca Skloot, a bestselling nonfiction book that brought her legacy into public consciousness. The book highlighted both the scientific importance of her cells and the ethical issues surrounding their use, especially the lack of informed consent and the fact that her family received no compensation, while biotech companies profited. Typical America, something’s never change even hundreds of years later a lot of the same injustices take place disregarding the laws that have been put in place for this very reason.

   In 2017, her story was adapted into an HBO film starring Oprah Winfrey as Deborah Lacks, Henrietta’s daughter. Henrietta’s legacy is now honored around the world. Institutions such as the World Health Organization (WHO) and Johns Hopkins University have acknowledged her contributions. In 2021, WHO honored her posthumously for her lasting impact on medical science and humanity. Henrietta Lacks never intended to be a pioneer of modern medicine. Yet her cells changed the course of scientific history and have touched the lives of virtually every person on the planet through their contributions to disease research, vaccines, and medical innovations. Her story is a powerful reminder of the need for ethics, consent, and recognition in scientific research, and she is now remembered as a woman whose life and cells, became truly immortal. Absolutely devastating how Henrietta was treated after her death meanwhile her family has no idea that a part of her continued to live on in labs, saving lives daily. Such an enormous impact that her death made, and she did not even at least receive a proper funeral and known burial plot. With all of the technology we have today and as far as humans have advanced, this should not be happening today in 2025 but unfortunately it does.

   Please take a moment out to remember Henrietta Lacks for her contributions and pay your respects to her and her family for this outrageous wrongdoing that proceeded for years before she would be the face of her own medical breakthroughs around the world, and even in space!

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