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On October 4th 1951, a 31 year old poor Black woman named Henrietta Lacks died of aggressive cervical cancer at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore Maryland. What neither she nor her family knew was that before her death, a sample of her cancer cells were taken and studied by scientists who discovered that unlike other cell samples, Henrietta’s did not die when given adequate nutrition and oxygen. They thrived and multiplied, making them the first human cell line that scientists could grow indefinitely in laboratory conditions. Henrietta Lacks died and was buried in an unmarked grave, but her cells live on under a name derived from the first two letters of her first and last name: HeLa. HeLa cells were mass produced in the decades that followed and enabled scientists to study all sorts of diseases from polio to cancer and even AIDS. Today there are so many HeLa cells in existence that they are estimated to have a combined weight of more than 50 million metric tons. Discoveries have been made, careers have advanced, lives have been saved, and profits have been reaped. But for two decades after she died, Henrietta Lacks’ family had no idea what had been done with her cells and who had benefited. The Lacks family, too poor to afford health insurance themselves, attempted for many years to receive financial compensation, but more importantly, to gain recognition for Henrietta’s legacy. And now, a new book written by science writer Rebecca Skloot, finally tells the definitive story of who Henrietta Lacks was, how her cells were taken, and what her family has been through. The New York Times’ bestselling book, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, also tells the stories of African Americans’ justified fears of medical experimentation, the scientific community’s insulation, and important changes in medical ethics and patients rights. Rebecca Skloot spent ten years gathering the research, intimately getting to know members of the Lacks family, in particular Henrietta’s daughter Deborah, and attempting to put together the pieces of one of the most important untold stories of modern medicine.

Rebecca Skloot will be speaking on Monday, May 3, at 7:30 pm, at Warwick’s, 7812 Girard Avenue, La Jolla, CA 92037. Call (858) 454-0347 or email warwicksevents@yahoo.com for more information.

Find out more at www.rebeccaskloot.com.