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Henrietta's cells were taken during her treatment for cervical cancer from "summary" of The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
Henrietta Lacks was a poor African American tobacco farmer who was diagnosed with cervical cancer in the 1950s. During her treatment at Johns Hopkins Hospital, a doctor took a sample of her cancer cells without her knowledge or consent. These cells, known as HeLa cells, were the first human cells to be successfully grown in a laboratory setting and have since become one of the most important tools in medical research. The doctor who took Henrietta's cells, Dr. George Gey, was trying to find a way to grow cells outside the body for research purposes. He had been unsuccessful with previous attempts using other cells, but Henrietta's cells thrived and multiplied rapidly. This breakthrough was a game changer for medical science, as it allowed researchers to conduct experiments and develop treatments without having to rely solely on animal testing. The remarkable thing about Henrietta's cells was their ability to divide and grow indefinitely, unlike normal human cells which have a limited lifespan. This made them incredibly valuable for scientific resea...
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