Henrietta Lacks Research Paper

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Faaiq Rizwan Dr. Catherine Marco BIOL 494 - EMRAP 14 March 2024 “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks” Reflection "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" sheds light on the hidden narrative of Henrietta Lacks and her “immortal” HeLa cells, which profoundly impacted the practices in the field of medical research. Taking place during the era of Jim Crow Laws, Henrietta Lacks was a poor African American woman who was being treated for cervical cancer at John Hopkins University. Before treatment, Henrietta signed a consent to treatment form, allowing the doctors to perform the necessary operations. When being treated for her cervical cancer, Dr. George Gey requested tissue samples from all cervical cancer patients without their consent. Upon extraction …show more content…
My most notable impression is seeing the drastic revolution in informed consent that Lacks’ story helped to trigger. While undergoing treatment, she was never explicitly informed about the collection and use of her cells for research purposes. This lack of transparency voided the opportunity for Lacks to make informed decisions about her samples. Furthermore, Hopkins also drew blood from her children claiming it was for screening purposes, only for it to be revealed that it was being used for research without their knowledge. Seeing the profits made by the labs and the consistent dishonesty of scientists prompted an important and major change in research ethics. The relationship between a patient and a doctor is typically one of trust. However, the doctors completely abused this trust by making decisions without obtaining consent. Another example of this violation of trust was Chester Southam, who injected HeLa cells into prisoner cancer patients. Although they voluntarily agreed, they were told it was for an “immune system test”. This was a blatant lie from Southam, which the prisoner believed under the assumption of a truthful

Henrietta Lacks Research Paper

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks is a very intriguing story. The story follows the Lacks family as they deal with the main character, Henrietta Lacks’ battle with cervical cancer and the aftermath of her death. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks begins in 1951, a time where racism and segregation still existed. The Lacks were poor and medical care was reserved for issues where they had no other choice but to see a doctor. In the opening Henrietta visits Johns Hopkins Hospital complaining…

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Henrietta Lacks Research Paper

Henrietta Lacks was a young black woman who began to experience pain after giving birth to her fourth child. She visited a doctor saying she had a “knot on her womb” and was referred to John Hopkins Hospital. John Hopkins hospital was the only hospital that treated black patients around that time. After her examination, Dr. Howard Jones confirmed that Henrietta Lacks had a purple lump on her cervix. Dr. Richard TeLinde and Dr. George Gey, were two of the best researchers at John Hopkins. Dr. Gey…

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Research Paper On Henrietta Lacks

Henrietta Lacks’ Reality made her become immortal. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks is about an African American woman whose cancerous cells were stolen to change medicine. Henrietta lived during the jim crow era. As a minority, she has gone through so many more obstacles than others. She grew up on a farm with very little income and many people to care for. She had to become strong for her family and for herself. These obstacles made her emotionally strong enough to be calm at the moment she…

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Henrietta Lacks Research Paper

Henrietta Lacks was born in Roanoke Virginia, on August 1, 1920. Henrietta had eight siblings, and unfortunately his mother Eliza Lacks Pleasant, died when she was giving birth to her tenth child. Johnny Pleasant, Henrietta's father did not have the patience to raising all children, He took the decision to return to Clover, Virginia where his family worked in the tobacco plantations. Johnny distributed his children with his family and Henrietta stayed with her grandfather Tommy Lacks. In her childhood…

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Henrietta Lacks Research Paper

Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks Tonya Reyes -Dickerson – Med 100 Independence University Write a paper to suggest a solution to how this situation should be handled both ethically and legally and defend it. Be sure to include the evidence from the excerpt that supports your decision. You should also include at least one external source to support your solution. The paper must be 500 words or more. TONYA REYES-DICKERSON WK 4 ASSIGNMENT- MED100 2 This paper is on Henrietta Lacks a poor African…

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Henrietta Lacks Research Paper

Henrietta Lacks was a young African American woman whose cervical cells were stolen from her and used in scientific research without her or her family’s knowledge. A woman looking for cancer treatment turned into one of the most important tools in medicine for years to come after her death. The story of her and her family is nothing short of heartbreaking but also amazing. It covers not only ethics in medicine, but also shows the inherent and blatant racism of the medical community before the end…

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Henrietta Lacks Research Paper

save thousands. With this immensely impressive feat, one would instantly become a household name. But imagine after all of this, for years, your name and story would be virtually unquestioned and almost certainly unknown. This was the case for Henrietta Lacks, known only as HeLa for years following her…

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Henrietta Lacks Research Paper

average American. A prime example of this is HeLa cells. Henrietta Lacks was a Black woman born in Virginia in 1920. One day she went to the doctor because she felt a knot in her womb and soon after she learned that she had cancer. Henrietta went to John Hopkins Hospital because it was the only hospital that offered free segregated medical healthcare to blacks. The procurement of the cells is the biggest ethical factor in the equation. Henrietta went into the Hopkins hospital to get her first radium…

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Henrietta Lacks Research Paper

In the making of her award-winning book The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, Rebecca Skloot interviews the family of Henrietta Lacks to uncover the story of the creator of HeLa, the world’s first immortal cells that revolutionized medical science and led to cures for many deadly diseases and medical conditions. Despite Henrietta’s major contribution to the medical field, her children continue to suffer because of her death. Because she died early on in her children’s lives, her youngest daughter…

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Henrietta Lacks Research Paper

Henrietta Lacks, a woman known for liking to help others. She was the first person to be known to have immortal cells. Her cells were taken from her and used in many medicines and researches. They soon were sent around the world to scientist wanting to research them. The cells were able to create vaccines, perform new tests, helped cloning and launch the field of virology. Although Henrietta never knew about the use of her cells and her family found out years later, her family was more curious than…

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