Great Book I Just Finished!

I have just finished reading a really great book (lent to me by my son’s girlfriend!) The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot is a non-fiction work detailing (in great detail, mind you) the taking of the cells of the aforementioned Henrietta in the 1950s while she was being treated for cancer at Johns Hopkins. Her cells were found to be very viable and able to reproduce at rapid rates unseen before in history. They subsequently went on to become important in many medical advances, and not just for cancer. The helped develop the polio vaccine, HPV vaccine, they’ve been to space and blown up.

The thing of it is, no one ever told her family and they have never received any compensation for any of the millions of dollars made by the buying/selling of her cells all these years. Her family didn’t even find out her cells were still “alive” until 25 years after her death! Rebecca Skloot does an amazing job of describing scientific terms in plain English while also treating the Lacks family with much tenderness, love and understanding. These were/are real people, not just anonymous test subjects. It is a great read and a great thought provoker on the costs of science vs. the benefits we might obtain if it goes right. You can get your own copy at your local library or buy one on Amazon, like so: