02/03/2025
In honor of Black History Month, MedStar Home Health Services would like to spotlight several African American Pioneers in Medicine.
"The Immortal" HENRIETTA LACKS
(August 1, 1920 – October 4, 1951)
Henrietta Lacks (born Loretta Pleasant) was an African-American woman whose cancer cells are the source of the HeLa cell line, the first immortalized human cell line and one of the most important cell lines in medical research. An immortalized cell line reproduces indefinitely under specific conditions, and the HeLa cell line continues to be a source of invaluable medical data to the present day.
In 1951, a young mother of five named Henrietta Lacks visited The Johns Hopkins Hospital complaining of vaginal bleeding. Upon examination, it was discovered she had a large, malignant tumor on her cervix. At the time, The Johns Hopkins Hospital was one of only a few hospitals to treat African Americans.
As medical records show, Mrs. Lacks began undergoing radium treatments for her cervical cancer. This was the best medical treatment available at the time for this terrible disease. A sample of her cancer cells retrieved during a biopsy were sent to Dr. George G*y's nearby tissue lab. For years, Dr. G*y, a prominent cancer and virus researcher, had been collecting cells from all patients who came to The Johns Hopkins Hospital with cervical cancer, but each sample quickly died in Dr. G*y’s lab. What he would soon discover was that Mrs. Lacks’ cells were unlike any of the others he had ever seen: where other cells would die, Mrs. Lacks' cells doubled every 20 to 24 hours.
They reproduced at a very high rate and could be kept alive long enough to allow more in-depth examination. Until then, cells cultured for laboratory studies survived for only a few days at most, which wasn't long enough to perform a variety of different tests on the same sample. Lacks's cells were the first to be observed that could be divided multiple times without dying, which is why they became known as "immortal."
Today, these incredible cells— nicknamed "HeLa" cells, from the first two letters of her first and last names — are used to study the effects of toxins, drugs, hormones and viruses on the growth of cancer cells without experimenting on humans. They have been used to test the effects of radiation and poisons, to study the human genome, to learn more about how viruses work, and played a crucial role in the development of the polio vaccine.
HeLa cells were the first human cells successfully cloned in 1955,and have since been used to test human sensitivity to tape, glue, cosmetics, and many other products. Since the 1950s, scientists have grown as much as 50 million metric tons of her cells, and there are almost 11,000 patents involving HeLa cells.
In 1996, Morehouse School of Medicine held its first annual HeLa Women's Health Conference. The conference is held to give recognition to Henrietta Lacks, her cell line, and "the valuable contribution made by African Americans to medical research and clinical practice". The mayor of Atlanta declared the date of the first conference, October 11, 1996, "Henrietta Lacks Day".
In 2010, the Johns Hopkins Institute for Clinical and Translational Research established the annual Henrietta Lacks Memorial Lecture Series to honor Henrietta Lacks and the global impact of HeLa cells on medicine and research. During the 2018 lectures, the University announced the naming of a new building on the medical campus for Lacks.
In 2011, Morgan State University in Baltimore granted Lacks a posthumous honorary doctorate in public service. Also in 2011, the Evergreen School District in Vancouver, Washington, named their new high school focused on medical careers the Henrietta Lacks Health and Bioscience High School, becoming the first organization to memorialize her publicly by naming a school in her honor.
HBO announced in 2010 that Oprah Winfrey was developing a film project based on Lack's life with Winfrey in the leading role of Deborah Lacks, Henrietta's daughter. The film "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" was released in 2017, with Renée Elise Goldsberry portraying Lacks.
Although, Mrs. Lacks ultimately passed away at the young age of 31, her cells continue to impact and have an everlasting effect on the medical world and ongoing research.
At MedStar Home Health Services, we provide a variety of medical services with our highly trained staff. We are committed to providing 'Star' Service with Dedication, Compassion and Integrity.
If interested, contact us at 314-782-7311