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Apr 03, 2018katboxjanitor rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
What an amazing journey the family of Henrietta Lacks has been on! I have been aware of the story of HeLa cell cultures based on NPR interviews\programs with Rebecca Skloot and I was in awe just from what I had heard there. The acquisition and global use of cell cultures taken from Henrietta Lacks and this story of the impacts of her early death from a virulent form of cervical cancer. Disturbing because it brought the disparities of race. The Lacks family of the early 1900s is a mix of white and black from the days of slave ownership followed by some share cropping (tobacco) and some intermarrying of too-closely related members of the family. Medical care in the 1950s was still divided along color lines, physicians did not expect to be questioned and they presumed too much information would be distressing to patient and family. A lot of unnecessary distress was caused to the Lacks family while they tried to understand what happened to Henrietta and needed someone to explain to them what a cell culture was - and was NOT. They struggled with this for more than 30 years until Ms Skloot helped connect them with Dr Lengauer, who was able to give them some insight into what HeLa is and showed Henrietta's daughter what the 'fuss' about HeLa is in a way that honored her memory.