Women Who Defied Traditional Gender Roles
On October 27, 1951, Henrietta Lacks, an unknown historical figure at the time, made an unintentional but monumental contribution to science and medicine that would forever change history. Although she did not knowingly defy traditional gender roles, Henriettaโs story challenges the norms of patient consent and medical ethics, eventually inspiring a movement for patient rights.
On October 27, 1951, Henrietta passed away at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, but her cells lived on in labs across the world. Researchers used HeLa cells to develop the polio vaccine, study cancer, AIDS, gene mapping, and make advancements that would save millions of lives. Despite the enormous impact of her cells, Henriettaโs family remained unaware of the contributions she had unknowingly made to science for decades.
Her cells were taken without her consent, a common practice at the time, especially for African Americans and low-income patients, highlighting critical issues of race, ethics, and inequality in medical research.
Henrietta Lacksโ legacy eventually led to important changes in medical ethics, particularly regarding informed consent and the rights of patients over their biological material.
Her story has inspired advocates to push for transparency and respect in medical research, sparking discussions around the ethics of human tissue use. Though Henrietta was unknown and unrecognized in her lifetime, her contributions helped shape modern medicine, and she is now celebrated for sparking a movement toward patientsโ rights and ethical standards in medical research.
@TheNewsOwl
Its a hell of a story. I read a magazine article about her (and it may have been by Rebecca Skloot) waaay back before she wrote the book. It may have been around 2000. I realized I had purchased some of her cells from a boilogical supply house and had them in the freezer in my lab!
@TheNewsOwl I've read about her before. How many of us owe our lives to that woman? Polio was very nearly eradicated because of her.
Makes me wonder whatbthe white supremacists would think if they realized their polio vaccine came from her.
Henrietta was an African American woman whose cells, taken without her knowledge during treatment for cervical cancer, became the first โimmortalโ human cellsโmeaning they could survive and multiply outside the body indefinitely. These cells, known as HeLa cells, went on to revolutionize medical research.