The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

Parent Book
Rating
★★★★★
Author
Rebecca Skloot
Type
Non-Fiction
Setting
Baltimore and the surrounding area
Climax
Deborah and her brother Zakariyya see pictures of their mother’s cells
Pub Themes
Published
Feb 2, 2010
Cover
https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/91m5vlC0niL.jpg
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Biography of the Author

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Key Theme Summaries

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Key Themes

Cost of Immortality

Henrietta's descendants are outraged that they are not compensated for their mother's contributions to society. The HeLa cell line, originally created by George Gey, has led to billions of dollars in profits for drug and research companies. Henrietta's family believe she was essentially given away in exchange for scientific innovation.
The Lacks family has paid the cost of Henrietta's immortality, but has not truly reaped its rewards. Her cells have cured the world of countless diseases while her family members don't even have health insurance to buy the drugs that their genetic material helped to create. Their mental health, particularly that of Zakariyya and Deborah, was a quick victim of their mother's immortality.

Family

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Sections / Chapters

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Student Library
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