The First Immortal Cells

Henrietta Lacks, an African American woman, made a monumental contribution to medical science with the immortal cell line known as HeLa cells. Born in 1920, Lacks was a tobacco farmer in Virginia who, in the early 1950s, sought treatment for cervical cancer at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. During her treatment, cells were taken from her tumor without her knowledge or consent—a common practice at the time.

These cells were given to Dr. George Otto Gey, a prominent cancer and virus researcher. Gey discovered that unlike normal human cells, which die after a few divisions in culture, Lacks’ cells could be kept alive and would continuously divide. Named after Henrietta Lacks, “HeLa” cells became the first immortal human cell line ever grown in culture, marking a significant breakthrough in medical research.

HeLa cells have been instrumental in some of the most critical advancements in medical research, including the polio vaccine development, gene mapping, cloning, and even the effects of zero gravity on human cells. Their remarkable ability to divide indefinitely has allowed scientists across the globe to reproduce countless studies and experiments that have led to medical breakthroughs.

Lacks and her family were kept in the dark about the critical role her cells played in science for over 20 years after her death. This has driven substantial changes in medical ethics and law, specifically in terms of requiring consent for tissue samples and upholding patients' rights. Nevertheless, her legacy endures through the HeLa cells, which persist as a cornerstone of medical research, and in the broader discourse on ethics in medical practice.

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