#He immortal life of henrietta lacks movie#

As Skloot interviews the Lacks family, the injustice in their situation grabs more and more of the focus. Photo Courtesy: Oprah Winfrey as Deborah Lacks and Rose Byrn as Rebecca Skloot in вЂњThe Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks.вЂќ Credit: IMDBДЄside from the science, there is also the tale of a family that has this generational trauma over their heads. HeLa cells have been essential in the modernization of medicine. The story highlights decades of scientific research. Rebecca Skloot first published articles about HeLa in the early 2000s, so she spent over 10 years crafting and researching to make her possible. When you think about it, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks has all the elements of a captivating story. What Makes вЂњThe Immortal Life of Henrietta LacksвЂќ So Special? If a sample taken from a person is used for research that becomes a major medical advancement, should that person be compensated - or at least recognized? The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks brought a human perspective to these debates, highlighting why Lacks herself is such an important figure when it comes to the rights of patients and the treatment of Black Americans in the U.S. Knowing what we consent to when we get our blood drawn is important.

#He immortal life of henrietta lacks movie#

Despite the book and movie about her, Henrietta Lacks is still struggling to be heard. The historical figure has also advanced conversations revolving ethics in science and medicine. Henrietta LacksвЂ™ life-saving goes beyond the medical advancements made with samples from her body. Someone whose position did not advance, however, was Henrietta Lacks. ItвЂ™s important to recognize that Skloot herself profited from the book in both a monetary way and socially. People who made discoveries using HeLa also were able to advance their careers and their livelihoods.

The medical advancement itself was huge and those responsible for discovering HeLa were well-recognized in their community and compensated well for it. The discovery of HeLa meant a lot of different things. Credit:National Institutes of Health/Wikimedia Commons Photo Courtesy: HeLa cells stained under a Nikon RTS2000MP. This is where the title, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, comes from. One of those samples went on to become HeLa - the first immortal cell line. George Otto Gey took two samples from Lacks without her knowledge. She was later diagnosed with cervical cancer, and it wasnвЂ™t until 1970 that doctors discovered her diagnosis should have been adenocarcinoma, a cancerous tumor that can appear in a number of parts in the body. In 1951, the year of her death, she went to Johns Hopkins Hospital - the only facility in her area that accepted Black patients at the time - and was misdiagnosed twice. She was 5 feet tall, had five children and lived to be 31. The Health Scare That Saved Lives in More Ways Than One Rebecca Skloot told her story, but the social justice movements are making sure LacksвЂ™ story continues being told. But, thanks in part to Henrietta Lacks, vaccines have become a key element of modern medicine. Without vaccinations, the COVID-19 pandemic might still feel like a hopeless situation. In 2020 and beyond, the ingredients for justice for Henrietta Lacks are being laid out. What is it about the story about the historical figure that keeps people reading, watching and returning to The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks? In part, there were a lot of wrongs that Henrietta Lacks faced that gripped readers and viewers alike.