Henrietta Lacks facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Henrietta Lacks
Lacks c. 1945–1951
Born	Loretta Pleasant (1920-08-01)August 1, 1920 Roanoke, Virginia, U.S.
Died	October 4, 1951(1951-10-04) (aged 31) Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
Cause of death	Cervical cancer
Monuments	Henrietta Lacks Health and Bioscience High School; historical marker at Clover, Virginia
Occupation	Housewife tobacco farmer
Height	approx. 5 ft (150 cm)
Spouse(s)	David Lacks ​ (m. 1941)​
Children	5

Henrietta Lacks (born Loretta Pleasant; August 1, 1920 – October 4, 1951) was an African American woman. Her cancer cells became the source of the HeLa cell line. This was the first "immortal" human cell line ever grown in a lab.

An "immortalized cell line" means the cells can reproduce endlessly. They continue to grow under special conditions. The HeLa cell line is still used today for important medical research. It provides valuable information for scientists.

Doctors took these cells from a tumor during Henrietta's treatment. She had cervical cancer at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1951. A researcher named George Otto Gey then grew these cells. He created the HeLa cell line. At that time, doctors did not need permission to use cells from a patient's treatment. Neither Henrietta nor her family were paid for the use of her cells.

Researchers knew about HeLa cells' origins after 1970. However, Henrietta's family did not learn about them until 1975. The public learned about the cells' genetic background. This raised important questions about privacy and patients' rights in medical research.

Henrietta Lacks: A Medical Pioneer

Her Early Life Story

Henrietta Lacks was born Loretta Pleasant on August 1, 1920. Her birthplace was Roanoke, Virginia. Her parents were Eliza and John Pleasant. People remember her for her hazel eyes and neat appearance. She was often called Hennie.

When Henrietta was four, her mother passed away. Her father could not care for all ten children alone. So, the family moved to Clover, Virginia. The children went to live with different relatives. Henrietta lived with her grandfather, Thomas Lacks. Their home was a log cabin on a former plantation. She shared a room with her cousin, David "Day" Lacks.

Like many in her family, Henrietta worked as a tobacco farmer from a young age. She helped with animals and the garden. She also worked in the tobacco fields. She went to a school for black children two miles away. She left school in the sixth grade to help her family.

Henrietta and Day Lacks started a family together. Their first son, Lawrence, was born in 1935. In 1939, their daughter Elsie was born. Elsie had special health needs, including epilepsy and cerebral palsy. The family described her as "different."

Family Life and Moving to Maryland

Henrietta and David "Day" Lacks married on April 10, 1941. They already had two children. Later that year, a cousin convinced them to move. They left their tobacco farm in Virginia. They moved to Turner Station in Baltimore County, Maryland. Day found work at Bethlehem Steel.

Day Lacks bought a house in Turner Station. This area was one of the oldest and largest African-American communities nearby. In Maryland, Henrietta and Day had three more children. These were David Jr., Deborah, and Joseph. Henrietta gave birth to Joseph in November 1950. This was just before her cancer diagnosis. Joseph later changed his name to Zakariyya Bari Abdul Rahman.

Around this time, Elsie was placed in a special hospital. It was called the Hospital for the Negro Insane. She passed away there in 1955 at age 15. Henrietta and Day Lacks were both Catholic.

Her Illness and Treatment

On January 29, 1951, Henrietta went to Johns Hopkins Hospital. She had felt a "knot" in her womb. Her doctor, Howard W. Jones, took a small sample from a mass on her cervix. This was for testing. Soon after, Henrietta learned she had a serious type of cervical cancer. Doctors later found it was a different kind of cancer. However, the treatment would have been the same.

Henrietta received special treatments using radium. She was discharged a few days later. She was told to return for X-ray treatments. During her treatments, doctors took two samples from her cervix. They did this without her permission or knowledge. One sample was healthy tissue. The other was cancerous.

These samples went to George Otto Gey. He was a doctor and cancer researcher at Johns Hopkins. The cells from the cancerous sample became the HeLa "immortal" cell line. This cell line is widely used in biomedical research today.

Her Passing and Burial

On August 8, 1951, Henrietta Lacks, then 31, returned to Johns Hopkins. She asked to be admitted due to severe abdominal pain. She received blood transfusions. She remained in the hospital until her death on October 4, 1951. A medical examination after her death showed the cancer had spread throughout her body.

Lacks Town Road in Clover, Virginia, near where Lacks grew up and is buried

Henrietta was buried in an unmarked grave. This was in the family cemetery in Clover, Virginia. The exact spot is unknown. Her family believes it is near her mother's grave. For many years, her mother's was the only marked grave. In 2010, a doctor named Roland Pattillo donated a headstone for Henrietta. Her family then raised money for Elsie's headstone. Both were dedicated on the same day.

Henrietta Lacks's book-shaped headstone has a special message. Her grandchildren wrote it:

The Amazing HeLa Cells

How HeLa Cells Changed Science

Dividing HeLa cells in culture. The cells can be seen in metaphase and telophase, different stages of cell division.

George Otto Gey was the first to study Henrietta's cancer cells. He noticed something amazing. These cells reproduced very quickly. They could also stay alive in a lab for a long time. Before this, cells in labs usually died after a few days. This was not enough time for many tests.

Henrietta's cells were the first that could divide many times without dying. This is why they were called "immortal." After Henrietta's death, Gey's assistant took more HeLa samples. Gey started a cell line from Henrietta's sample. He isolated one cell and let it divide repeatedly. This meant the same cell could be used for many experiments. They were named HeLa cells. This was Gey's way of labeling samples, using the first two letters of the patient's first and last names.

Important Discoveries with HeLa Cells

The ability to grow HeLa cells quickly in a lab led to many breakthroughs. For example, by 1954, Jonas Salk used HeLa cells. He was developing the polio vaccine. To test his new vaccine, HeLa cells were mass-produced. This was done in the first-ever cell production factory.

HeLa cells were in high demand. They were sent to scientists worldwide. They helped research into cancer, AIDS, and the effects of radiation. They also helped study toxic substances and gene mapping. HeLa cells were the first human cells successfully cloned in 1955. They have been used to test how humans react to tape, glue, cosmetics, and many other products. There are almost 11,000 patents that involve HeLa cells.

In the early 1970s, many other cell cultures became accidentally mixed with HeLa cells. Because of this, researchers asked Henrietta Lacks's family for blood samples. They hoped to learn about the family's genetics. This would help them tell HeLa cells apart from other cell lines.

The family was confused and worried. They wondered why they were getting so many calls. In 1975, the family learned by chance that Henrietta's cells were still being used. They had never discussed Henrietta's illness or death among themselves before this.

Questions About Consent and Privacy

Henrietta Lacks and her family never gave permission for her cells to be used. At that time, doctors did not usually ask for permission. The cells were used for medical research and for business. In the 1980s, the family's medical records were published. This also happened without their consent.

This issue was discussed in a court case in 1990. The court decided that discarded tissue and cells are not a person's property. They can be used for commercial purposes.

In March 2013, scientists published the DNA sequence of a HeLa cell strain. The Lacks family found out about this from author Rebecca Skloot. The family had concerns about this genetic information being public. Jeri Lacks Whye, Henrietta's grandchild, spoke to The New York Times. She said their biggest concern was privacy. They worried about what information would be public about their grandmother. They also worried about what it could reveal about her children and grandchildren.

In August 2013, the family and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) reached an agreement. The family gained some control over who could access the cells' DNA sequence. They also received a promise of recognition in scientific papers. Two family members joined a committee. This committee regulates access to the sequence data.

In October 2021, Henrietta's estate filed a lawsuit. They sued Thermo Fisher Scientific. They claimed the company profited from HeLa cells without consent. They asked for the company's net profits. On July 31, 2023, Thermo Fisher Scientific settled with the Lacks family. The terms were not made public. In February 2026, the Lacks family reached another settlement. This was with Novartis, a company based in Switzerland. Lawsuits against other drug companies are still ongoing.

Honoring Henrietta Lacks

A historical marker memorializing Henrietta Lacks in Clover, Virginia

A park named in honor of Henrietta Lacks in Baltimore, Maryland

In 1996, the Morehouse School of Medicine started the annual HeLa Women's Health Conference. This conference honors Henrietta Lacks and her cell line. It also recognizes the important contributions of African Americans to medicine. The mayor of Atlanta declared October 11, 1996, "Henrietta Lacks Day."

Henrietta's contributions are celebrated yearly in Turner Station. In 1997, U.S. Congressman Robert Ehrlich recognized her. He presented a resolution honoring her contributions to science.

In 2010, Johns Hopkins Institute for Clinical and Translational Research started a lecture series. It is called the Henrietta Lacks Memorial Lecture Series. It honors her and the global impact of HeLa cells.

In 2011, Morgan State University gave Henrietta a special award. It was a posthumous honorary doctorate in public service. Also in 2011, a new high school was named after her. The Henrietta Lacks Health and Bioscience High School in Vancouver, Washington, focuses on medical careers.

In 2014, Henrietta Lacks was inducted into the Maryland Women's Hall of Fame. In 2017, a minor planet was named "359426 Lacks" in her honor.

In 2018, The New York Times published a belated obituary for her. This was part of their Overlooked history project. Also in 2018, the National Portrait Gallery and the National Museum of African-American History and Culture received a portrait of Lacks. It was painted by Kadir Nelson.

On October 6, 2018, Johns Hopkins University announced plans. They would name a research building in Henrietta's honor. University President Ronald J. Daniels made the announcement. He was joined by several of Henrietta's descendants. Daniels said the building would honor her impact on science and medicine. It would also highlight the importance of ethics in research.

Henrietta Lacks statue, Bristol

In 2020, Lacks was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame.

In 2021, the Henrietta Lacks Enhancing Cancer Research Act became law. It requires a study on barriers to cancer clinical trials. This study focuses on underrepresented populations.

In October 2021, the University of Bristol unveiled a statue of Lacks. It was at Royal Fort House in the city. The sculpture was created by Helen Wilson-Roe. It was the first statue of a black woman made by a black woman for a public space in the United Kingdom.

On October 13, 2021, the World Health Organization (WHO) honored Henrietta. They presented the Director General Award to her son, Lawrence Lacks. This recognized her unknowing contribution to science. Soumya Swaminathan, WHO chief scientist, praised her cells' impact.

On March 15, 2022, U.S. Rep. Kwesi Mfume filed legislation. It proposed awarding Henrietta Lacks the Congressional Gold Medal. This is a very high civilian honor.

On December 19, 2022, it was announced that a bronze statue honoring Henrietta Lacks would be erected. It was placed in Roanoke, Virginia's Henrietta Lacks Plaza. The statue was unveiled on October 4, 2023.

On June 13, 2023, Loudoun County Public Schools approved naming a new school after her. The Henrietta Lacks Elementary School in Aldie, Virginia, opened in August 2024. It serves over 800 students.

See also

In Spanish: Henrietta Lacks para niños

• List of contaminated cell lines