Research using “immortal cells” of a deceased African American woman has produced answers about illnesses and led to effective treatments as well.

I love that fact…but I love even more the story of how these cells came from Henrietta Lacks.

In a new book by journalist Rebecca Skloot, “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks,” the story is told about how immortal cells taken from Lacks, who was a poor tobacco farmer who had cervical cancer,  have even up to this day contributed to great strides in medical research.

Immortal cells are cells which do not die. They grow indefinitely, even after a person has died, and are shared by scientists the world over for research.

In 1951,  such cells were taken from Henrietta Lacks, who was 30 years old at the time, by a doctor at Johns Hopkins University. She had no knowledge of the cells having been taken, but the doctor and scientists, who had been trying to grow cells in cultures for a while, were amazed that her cells would not die. Hers were the first “immortal cells” ever extracted.

Dubbed “HeLa” cells, using the first two letters of Lacks’ first and last name, they were used to develop the polio vaccine and were sent to space to help determine what happens to cells in zero gravity. They have also been used to study in vitro fertilization and cloning.

For 25 years, nobody knew from whom the cells came. They were amazing, though. Scientists discovered that HeLa cells were invincible,  able to survive on dust particles and on unwashed hands. That got scientists curious and they began to track down the person from whom the cells had been taken and voila, discovered that it was Henrietta Lacks.

Journalist Skloot, who is a prize-winning writer, got wind of the controversy swirling about the cells and also learned the identity of the unknowing donor. She began to track down family members of the Lacks family, and was able to find Lacks’ daughter, Deborah.

There was understandably a lot of confusion and distrust from family as Skloot explained that in essence, Henrietta was “alive” through her cells, but she was persistent, and was able to get a lot of information about this young woman who has inadvertently contributed to huge strides in medical research.

Needless to say, I am getting the book!