Author Topic: The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot ~ Oct Book Club Online (Read 37455 times)

JoanK · « **Reply #80 on:** October 08, 2016, 09:22:04 PM »

The Book Club Online is the oldest book club on the Internet, begun in 1996, open to everyone. We offer cordial discussions of one book a month, 24/7 and enjoy the company of readers from all over the world. Everyone is welcome.

October Book Club Online

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
by Rebecca Skloot

"There's a photo on my wall of a woman I've never met, its left corner torn and patched together with tape. She looks straight into the camera and smiles, hands on hips, dress suit neatly pressed, lips painted deep red. It's the late l940s and she hasn't yet reached the age of thirty. Her light brown skin is smooth, her eyes still young and playful, oblivious to the tumor growing inside her-a tumor that would leave her five children motherless and change the future of medicine." -Rebecca Skloot

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/07/books/review/Margonelli-t.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

http://www.biography.com/people/henrietta-lacks-21366671

http://www.lacksfamily.net/

Part One: LIFE Oct. 1-8
Part Two: DEATH Oct 9-?

How was the polio shot discovered and by whom?

Do you remember the March of Dimes and how it was publized?

What were some of the improvements HELA cells brought to the field of tissue culture?

The story of the HELA cells leaked so why didn't the family know about it? What prevented that?

Do any of you remember the fear of tuberculosis?

TOO YOUNG TO REMEMBER! If you were the author of this book would you have felt the necessity of putting this chapter in the book. Does it ring true to you? What was the purpose?

The author often places herself in the book. Is this a good way to write a book.

What kind of book could this be classified as?

What did you think about the prisoners volunteering for immoral and deplorable experiments? Should it have been stopped by authorities?

Discussion Leaders: Ella, Adoannie, PatH

I missed yesterday and part of today glued to the baseball playoffs. Now I'm completely confused. Have we gone on to The next part? How long is it?

bellamarie · « **Reply #81 on:** October 09, 2016, 01:01:50 AM »

JoanK., I missed today with my grandkids sports. Yes, it appears we have moved on to Part Two. I will have to begin reading it. Be back after Sunday Mass and more grandkids sports.

heavenseden · « **Reply #82 on:** October 09, 2016, 09:25:17 AM »

hello ladies
Sorry to join the discussion so late in the game. I ordered the this story on the 29th and only received it on the 7th. I do not have the book I ordered the audio book and have only listened to the first 2 disks so far. I use unabridged audiobooks because I have developed monovision and of recent drs think I have to a small cateract in my reading eye and should reserve reading for my studies and mail and such to lessen the strain. (difficult because I used to be whats called a super reader.)

I have read the board two things popped out for me. One is the conversation about the cells and why we don't have a cure for cancer. I think it goes back to what the instructor said in the authors first class. That any tiny cell change anywhere within the cell structure or development can cause things to go amist. Without being able to replicate a normal cell what we could learn about a cell was limited. To understand how a cancer cell works you must first be able to understand the difference between it and a normal cell. so if you can not reproduce a cell to study well you can see the problem. This is what makes what happened with henriettas cells so important and miraculous.

There are so many types of cancer because there are so many types of cells. Anywhere along anyone one of these cells development things can go astray. Different types of cells do different things just think of all the types of cells there are: skin cells bone cell bloods cell organ cells lymph cells muscle cells nerves cell etc. you see my point? Each cell type has a different function in the body hence the potential for different types of cancer. So when ask why haven't solved cancer perhaps we should rather think what have we done for this kind of cancer or that kind of cancer. For of us to make any head way with any type of cancer we must understand how a cell replicates because it is this area that causes a cell to be cancerous. The abnormal proliferation of structurally abnormal cells.

The other conversation that interested me was the about how noble and altruistic the author is. For me the jury is still out. I do not see her as altruistic as much as i see her obsessed. At this point I see her as no better than any of the others that approached the family. She wanted something and they got nothing.

heavenseden · « **Reply #83 on:** October 09, 2016, 10:53:47 AM »

here is a clip from popscience
Five Reasons Henrietta Lacks is the Most Important Woman in Medical History

1. Before HeLa cells, scientists spent more time trying to keep cells alive than performing actual research on the cells. An endless supply of HeLa cells freed up time for discovery.

2. In 1952, the worst year of the polio epidemic, HeLa cells were used to test the vaccine that protected millions.

3. Some cells in Lacks's tissue sample behaved differently than others. Scientists learned to isolate one specific cell, multiply it, and start a cell line. Isolating one cell and keeping it alive is the basic technique for cloning and in-vitro fertilization.

4. A scientist accidentally poured a chemical on a HeLa cell that spread out its tangled chromosomes. Later on, scientists used this technique to determine that humans have 46 chromosomes—23 pairs—not 48, which provided the basis for making several types of genetic diagnoses.

5. It was discovered that Lacks's cancerous cells used an enzyme called telomerase to repair their DNA, allowing them, and other types of cancer cells, to function when normal cells would have died. Anti-cancer drugs that work against this enzyme are currently in early clinical trials.

ANNIE · « **Reply #84 on:** October 09, 2016, 11:21:02 AM »

I have just finished reading all of the last posts,(Like JoanK, I am a baseball nut)!
I am ready for Part Two.
HEAVENSEDEN! What a fascinating two posts and your explanation of cell division is fascinating and
I now think I am more aware of why its so hard to cure cancer. Too many different cells. Different
scientists interested in different types of cancer.
ELLA-yes! I remember the March of Dimes! Now we have all those walks and runs for breast cancer and other kinds of cancer.

PatH · « **Reply #85 on:** October 09, 2016, 12:59:53 PM »

Yes, we're moving on to Part Two, Death. As always, we can still continue to discuss Part One as well.

JoanK, it's as long as Part One, but we'll kind of discuss it in order, so just read some, and wade right in.

PatH · « **Reply #86 on:** October 09, 2016, 03:30:47 PM »

Heavenseden, I would find it very difficult to switch to audiobooks. I ofter look back and forth in the text I'm reading. Hope it works better for you.

I don't see the author as altruistic so much as sympathetic toward the Lacks extended family, which isn't something the family has seen much of. She is definitely obsessed. We'll see if this is good or bad.

That's an interesting list of advances made with HeLa cells. I remember, when they found we had 46 chromosomes instead of 48, feeling sorry for the generations of students who had had to count chromosomes and try to find 48.

JoanK · « **Reply #87 on:** October 09, 2016, 05:59:00 PM »

HEAVENSEDAN: Your posts are very interesting. Thank you. The advance that is in clinical trial sounds interesting.

" So when ask why haven't solved cancer perhaps we should rather think what have we done for this kind of cancer or that kind of cancer."

That's true. I think of the people I've lost to cancer, and forget that I, and probably some of you, are cancer survivors, thanks to the advances that have been made.

Ella Gibbons · « **Reply #88 on:** October 09, 2016, 07:01:16 PM »

OH!! Welcome HEAVENSWARD! We are happy you posted and although my old/weak brain has not understood a lot of this, your one statement came though:

" Scientists learned to isolate one specific cell, multiply it, and start a cell line. Isolating one cell and keeping it alive is the basic technique for cloning and in-vitro fertilization."

Now that straightens out one of my questions, but I have this one still. Henriette had cancerous cells which, we have read multiply amazingly and used for research the whole world over. But they were CANCEROUS cells. Were the labs able to remove the cancerous part of the cell or didn't that matter in the research? I would think it would have.

Stay with us HEAVENSWARD. We need your input!

heavenseden · « **Reply #89 on:** October 09, 2016, 07:27:30 PM »

Ella Gibbons
thanks ella for calling me out of lurking once I got the book.

Quote

Were the labs able to remove the cancerous part of the cell or didn't that matter in the research? I would think it would have.

in some cases where you want a cell to learn about a particular type of cancer you want it to be a cancer cell. In some cases as in the case of polio you just want cells and the type does not matter just the quantity. In the later case whether the cell had cancer did not matter only how it reacted to the vaccine. The fact that is was cancer cell was just was a bonus because it meant more cells to test due to the speedy proliferation of cancer cells.

ANNIE · « **Reply #90 on:** October 09, 2016, 10:22:09 PM »

So am I understanding this correctly? Dr Gey was able to use the right medium for keeping H's cells alive and dividing like eager rabbits. Also they have never quit dividing over the last 60 or so years. And it's the cells that do this and continue to live that are so important for science. The fact that Henny had cancer really wasn't the important factor but that her cells
lived! Dr Gey was sure they would die after a few days which he told his assistant, Mary Kubicek.

So it was Margaret Gey who developed the making of the medium and the care of the cells which
she taught to Mary, right? Hello, Ladies!

Now we go to part two which is also minding bending! And we start right off with the autopsy of
Henretta Lacks!

heavenseden · « **Reply #91 on:** October 09, 2016, 11:08:45 PM »

ADOANNIE

Quote

Dr Gey was able to use the right medium for keeping H's cells alive and dividing like eager rabbits. Also they have never quit dividing over the last 60 or so years. And it's the cells that do this and continue to live that are so important for science. The fact that Henny had cancer really wasn't the important factor but that her cells lived!

It is because the virlence of the strain of cancer that she had that I believe caused the cells to keep dividing. The dr. say he is surprised at the speed and aggressiveness of her cancer when he first meets her. Today we can through cell manipulation immortalize cells. But with all the new cell lines to this day none replicate as fast as hela cells.

Ella Gibbons · « **Reply #92 on:** October 10, 2016, 10:42:55 AM »

"It is because of the virlence of the strain of cancer that she had that I believe caused the cells to keep dividing" - Heavensward

Cancer - so from this we can understand how quickly some cancers can spread throughout the body? Am I understanding this correctly?

Gosh, I don't know where we are in the book, but that's okay, we are learning new things about cells and the body.

THE HELA FACTORY - let's start with Chapter 13:

Ella Gibbons · « **Reply #93 on:** October 10, 2016, 11:21:49 AM »

I 'm old enough to remember the March of Dimes, although just a child. At about this time Dr. Gey developed a process called "growing in suspension," discovered that HELA cells were susceptible to polio and learned how to ship the cells across the country to other scientists. Wow, all this in just two pages, hahahahaaa

And the government built a factory on the campus of Tuskegee Institute to provide jobs and training opportunities for young black students.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4458465/

Once inawhile the government does something right!

What are your thoughts about all of this??

BarbStAubrey · « **Reply #94 on:** October 10, 2016, 11:53:55 AM »

Ouch just the mention of Tuskegee Institute and the awful awful 40 year experiment with syphilis where black men were the guinea pigs so that I was curious if the cancer cells were also administered to Blacks and found this -

http://www.nbcnews.com/id/41811750/ns/health-health_care/t/ugly-past-us-human-experiments-uncovered/#.V_u0s8lLNzw

I remember how prisoners were made guinea pigs and the change over when a prisoner could volunteer - never did learn if that shortened their time in prison or not but it appears we infected far more than prisoners with various diseased cells. Another site I found trying to minimize what happened in Alabama explained how in the 60s and 70s we infected elderly Jewish patients with cancer cells. All this during our lifetime is painful and yet, it is a way of life where people were marginalized by race, religion and gender - we forget and probably because it is so painful.

ANNIE · « **Reply #95 on:** October 10, 2016, 12:46:24 PM »

Ella and Barbara, please no more links!? Now we are reading the book plus the links and that is about all I get done for the afternoon. Kidding just kidding! 😋

I have a question. Am I recalling incorrectly that for children under 3, there was a liquid developed as a vaccine against polio virus?

PatH · « **Reply #96 on:** October 10, 2016, 01:20:41 PM »

For me, the most poignant of these bad examples is Willowbrook State School for Retarded Children. The children weren't capable of giving consent, but the parents were. It was the only facility for retarded children available in the state, and in order to have their children admitted, the parents had to sign a consent form allowing medical experimentation. So if you can no longer care for your child, your only option is to give them over, knowingly, to this kind of treatment.

PatH · « **Reply #97 on:** October 10, 2016, 01:23:57 PM »

Annie, my children were given their polio immunizations as an oral liquid in the 70s.

Ella Gibbons · « **Reply #98 on:** October 10, 2016, 01:28:31 PM »

BARBARA. this huge factory was built to produce and ship HELA cells, no experiments on people, but here is a amazing fact:

"Black scientists and technicians, many of them women, used cells from a black woman to help save the lives of millions of Americans, most of them white. And they did so on the same campus - and at the same time - that state officials were conducting the infamous Tuskegee syphilis studies

The Tuskegee staff grew to thirty-five scientists and techicians who produced twenty thousand tubes of HELA a week.

ANN, I am older than you and I remember all people had to go to go their nearest school where you got in line and all of us, children and adults, were administered a little cup of liquid that we drank. This, before the shots.

Ella Gibbons · « **Reply #99 on:** October 10, 2016, 01:30:26 PM »

PAT, I just read your post, how awful that such a consent form was required. I'm sure that is no longer true.

PatH · « **Reply #100 on:** October 10, 2016, 01:57:39 PM »

I'm sure too. It's one of the bad examples in a medical ethics course required at NIH for anyone who even conceivably might come near a patient. Tuskeegee was another.

heavenseden · « **Reply #101 on:** October 10, 2016, 03:34:01 PM »

Ella Gibbons

Quote

Cancer - so from this we can understand how quickly some cancers can spread throughout the body? Am I understanding this correctly?

you got it.

Quote

And the government built a factory on the campus of Tuskegee Institute to provide jobs and training opportunities for young black students

undergrades would not have been used here. The author may not have meant Tuskegee Institute students. They were most likely meharry students which could have included alumni.

Many of the doctors scientist etc more than likely were trained at meharry one state over in Tennessee.
It was the first black medical/dental/pharmacy/nursing/public heath school in the nation.

Meharry Medical College, located in Nashville, Tennessee, United States, is a graduate and professional institution affiliated with the United Methodist Church whose mission is to educate healthcare professionals and scientists.[1][2] Founded in 1876 as the Medical Department of Central Tennessee College

The college was named for a young Scots-Irish immigrant salt trader named Samuel Meharry, who was traveling through the rough terrain of Kentucky when his wagon suddenly slipped off the road and fell into a swamp. Meharry was helped by a family of freedmen, whose names are unknown. This family of freed slaves gave Meharry food and shelter in the night. The next morning they helped him to recover his wagon. Meharry is reported to have told the former slave family, "I have no money, but when I can I shall do something for your race."[5]

In 1875, Samuel Meharry, together with four of his brothers, donated a total of $15,000 to assist with the establishment of a medical department at Central Tennessee College.[5] With the contribution of the Freedman's Aid Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church North, George W. Hubbard and John Braden, an English Methodist cleric, were able to open the Medical Department of Central Tennessee College in 1876.
Meharry Medical College was chartered separately in 1915. It is currently the largest private historically black institution in the United States solely dedicated to educating healthcare professionals and scientists.

My senior year in high school I was 15 and worked at willowbrook in the baby wing. It was one of the saddest experiences of my young life. Some of the things I saw.... Many of the parents just dump their kids off and never looked back. They would come once a year or never. Many could afford to take care of their kids 70% of them but just wanted them out of site. A male friend from my school we started there together worked with the adults which was so dangerous because they were mentally insane as well as retarded. They were big and strong they would fight or ask for sex. It was a mess. 6 months later after the death of the 5th child I quit just could not take watching them die.

bellamarie · « **Reply #102 on:** October 10, 2016, 06:12:38 PM »

Oh my heavens my head is spinning!!! I am so far behind and just read all your posts. Heavenseden, thank you so much for all your information. May I ask how you come about so much knowledge? Have you worked in science labs? You seem to know this first hand. I am just amazed at all the information you were able to provide us with. Your story of working at willowbrook is heartbreaking.

Heavenseden,

Quote

The other conversation that interested me was the about how noble and altruistic the author is. For me the jury is still out. I do not see her as altruistic as much as i see her obsessed. At this point I see her as no better than any of the others that approached the family. She wanted something and they got nothing.

It's interesting to me you brought this up, because it has been in the back of my mind, and was hoping somewhere in the book we will be told if this author compensated the Lacks family in any way for their help with her book.

Okay I must go begin reading part two.

ANNIE · « **Reply #103 on:** October 10, 2016, 07:29:09 PM »

IMHO, the author really shows us how poor Lackstown's black population was and the first thing she tells us is how Henrietta's body was delivered to her home, where her best friend, Sadie, and her sister,!Gladys, were awaiting to get her body cleaned up, clothed and made to look better using her make-up including her red nail polish. This could mean that her family could not afford to pay the undertaker to get the body ready for the viewing. That was held in her home and in pouring down rain, Day had four of his children with him as they made their way , through the mud and rain, to the cemetery. The gravediggers had finally found a place for her body which was near her mother' grave. And as they lowered the pine box into the grave, the sky turned almost black and the rain and wind and the lightening tore across countryside causing fields to burn, trees to be torn up by the roots and a man killed by the roof of his house falling on him after the wind dumped him out of the house and into his garden.

I liked what Henrietta's cousin, Peter, told the author about that storm! He felt that Henrietta was trying to tell them all something important. And she wanted them to pay attention! He laughs as he tells the author how Henny never minced words and got right to the point! I wonder if she knew how famous she became. But, it was 20 years before her family ever heard about the HeLa cells. And they were totally confused by the story that their mother's cells were helping many scientists of many different genres in medicine to save lives.

Barbara, the link to the NBC NEWS story about all the experiments that our Drs and Scientist have been allowed to do and for so many years and now in other countries just blew me away.

heavenseden · « **Reply #104 on:** October 10, 2016, 08:10:28 PM »

bellamarie

Quote

May I ask how you come about so much knowledge? Have you worked in science labs? You seem to know this first hand.

I minored in by biochemistry and early on in my life chased my own medical obsession.

ADOANNIE

Quote

This could mean that her family could not afford to pay the undertaker to get the body ready for the viewing.

It had nothing to do with money and all to do with the culture of that time. Southern culture blacks and whites
alike had viewings in the home. To receive and clean the body was an intimate act performed by the female elders to insure the private dignity of the dead. If the dead was male the male elders would wash shave and dress him. They would never leave such a task to non family members at the funeral home.

BarbStAubrey · « **Reply #105 on:** October 10, 2016, 09:24:13 PM »

Yes, my grandfather died in 1946 and he was not only prepared at home but waked in a neighbor's home with a big drinking party - everyone stayed up the entire night and some fell asleep in their chairs with kids on the floor, some under the table created with saw horses and boards covered with the best lace trimmed table cloth and holding the coffin - I think my father was the first in the family to be taken care of by a funeral home and he died in 1969.

ANNIE · « **Reply #106 on:** October 11, 2016, 09:20:52 AM »

We had a discussion about Eco friendly burials when still connected to SN and preparation of the body and home viewing plus burial in natural cemetery plot was discussed. Many cemeteries have natural areas used for eco friendly burials. And there are many ways to bury ashes offered by companies who are trying to save the reefs so they take the ashes out to designated areas off our coasts.
But, Barbara, I didn't know that families were still doing the body preparation as late as the '60's.
My father died in 1947 and he was taken care of by the local funeral home.

Heavenseden, we now have and do body preparation plus home viewing in many places even NYC!

So I have read all about the HELA factory at Tuskegee and how that came about. The book says that "a staff of six black scientists and technicians built a factory at Tuskegee" but the information that you provided about Meherry and the possibility of the staff coming from there. Fascinating!
And the people who arranged the whole operation were very thorough and well planned.

PatH · « **Reply #107 on:** October 11, 2016, 02:47:56 PM »

Heavenseden, that was quite an experience for a 15 year old, working at Willowbrook. I'm not surprised it became too depressing. Henrietta's oldest daughter, Elsie, seems to have been in a slightly better place, but still not very good.

My own experience with institutions for retarded individuals has been much more fortunate. My oldest daughter was retarded, and when we could no longer care for her, at age 13, she went to live in the local institution, where she got good care, some schooling and physical training, and was close enough for us to visit frequently. After a few years, she moved to a community placement, sharing an apartment with another retarded woman, quite close to us, cared for 24/7, with an active community life. She lived there the rest of her life. Maryland is one of the best states to live in if you need such resources.

bellamarie · « **Reply #108 on:** October 11, 2016, 03:43:49 PM »

PatH., It is so nice to hear about facilities that give good care to the mentally retarded. My cousin also lives in such a facility in my small hometown of Monroe Michigan. He remained at home until my aunt and uncle died and then was placed in this facility where they actually drive him to a place to work for the mentally challenged so he can have some form of money to spend on himself. His sister is able to bring him home with her for day or weekend visits. He is very happy there and it is perfect for him getting proper care.

heavenseden, Good for you! I am impressed, and happy to have you with us for this discussion.

When I think of cremation, and disposal of the ashes, I think I would not want to dispose of them. I personally feel I would want to keep them in a special urn, and know my loved one is close by. Is that morbid?

Ella Gibbons · « **Reply #109 on:** October 11, 2016, 05:47:11 PM »

And I read on. Tuskegee couldn't keep up with all the new developments and demands and as usually happens someone steps in. A couple of men, called REader and Vincent built a glass- enclosed room in the middle of a huge factory warehouse that had been used for making Fritos. They had decided there was profit to be made in shipping cells, called themselves Microbiological ASsociates, and they further hired consultants to help in the business.

Also by this time medium and equipment had been standardized, a big step in growing and selling cells.

I've read more stories of entrepaneurs just like the two above taking risks, going out on their own, and making it big. That's part of America to me; my own husband did that and we had some lean years for awhile but with hard work we succeeded in lived comfortably.

Off the subject for a couple of minutes. Has anyone ever read Ted Turner's book? He was convinced that a 24/7 news program would be successful on TV (At the time all stations signed off at 12), and so he begged, pleaded with friends and banks to get the money to start it and we have CNN. Later we had TCM ( Turner Classic Movies) which I like to watch, I remember all of the actors and I get a nasty pleasure of knowing they don't look like that anymore, if they are alive, they look more like me.

But back to the book ---------

After Hen's death, all her family from close and afar came to talk and cook and visit each other.

And what happened then?

ANNIE · « **Reply #110 on:** October 12, 2016, 11:53:15 AM »

After the funeral, when the family all came together, it was discovered, weeks later, that someone had brought tuberculosis. Henrietta's children, Sonny, Deborah and baby Joe all between 1 and 4 yrs, tested positive for TB. And baby Joe spent the next year in the hospital, very ill. And after that, he was passed around from cousin to cousin. H's husband, Day, had to work 2 jobs to support the family. Because of this, 16 yr old, Lawrence dropped out of school to take care of his brothers and sister. Because he got a false ID saying he was 18, he was soon drafted into the army due to the Korean War. And now cousin Ethel and her husband, Galen moved in to take care of the children. No one ever told the children what happened to their mother.

bellamarie · « **Reply #111 on:** October 12, 2016, 01:46:51 PM »

Knowing Henrietta's family did not receive any compensation for them using her cells, this for some reason brought me some feelings of consolation:

"When the NFIP heard the news that HeLa was susceptible to poliovirus and could grow in large quantities for little money, it immediately contracted William Scherer to oversee development of HeLa Distribution Center at the Tuskegee Institute, one of the most prestigious black universities in the country. The NFIP chose the Tuskegee Institute for the project because of Charles Bynum, director of "Negro Activities" for the foundation. Bynum__ a science teacher and civil rights activist who was the first black foundation executive in the country__wanted the center to be located at Tuskegee because it would provide hundreds of thousands of dollars in funding, many jobs, and training opportunities for you black scientists.

UNIT AT TUSKEGEE HELPS POLIO FIGHT
Corps of Negro Scientists Has Key Role n
Evaluating of Dr. Salk's Vaccine
HELA CELLS ARE GROWN

In a world of racism so strong in the 1950's and 60's, imagine the fact that a black woman's cells were being used to save lives of millions of Americans, most of them white. I can't help but pose this question out of curiosity,

Do you suppose any white person would have refused treatment, had they known the cure was coming from using a black woman's cells? Today of course not, in 1950's I wonder???

ANNIE · « **Reply #112 on:** October 12, 2016, 02:08:21 PM »

Because of a mistake by one of the scientists, an important discovery concerning DNA was made.. A chemical mistakenly poured over the HELA cells caused the DNA's chromosomes to swell which showed that there were only 46 chromosomes not the 48 that were taught. This was a leap forward in the science world. And three scientists were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in Medicine & Science in 1962 for their work on DNA and RNA.

And Ella, you can now add the links that I sent to you!😋💕😋

Ella Gibbons · « **Reply #113 on:** October 12, 2016, 02:19:07 PM »

I don't know, Bell, whether they would or not. Hard to imagine someone turning away from a cure no matter where it came from.

I read Chapter 15 but am not happy about it and I doubt Henriette would be.

And the next chapter is downright depressing!

What did all of you think of chapter 15 and 16.

ANNIE · « **Reply #114 on:** October 12, 2016, 02:26:43 PM »

What happened to my links?😋

PatH · « **Reply #115 on:** October 12, 2016, 02:27:44 PM »

That's an interesting question, Bellamarie. I have no idea, does anyone else? Blood donations were still segregated when Henrietta died. Of course, black cells were crucial to the screening and evaluation of the vaccine, but the vaccine itself didn't contain them, and had had no contact with them. That's a pretty subtle point to get across to overcome a prejudice, though.

ANNIE · « **Reply #116 on:** October 12, 2016, 02:41:02 PM »

I don't think that the people giving the shots would've even known about H's cells being used. But I could be wrong as I have been wrong before!😋 It's worth a Google!

PatH · « **Reply #117 on:** October 12, 2016, 07:59:52 PM »

Here are Annie's links:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/DNA

http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/1962/

bellamarie · « **Reply #118 on:** October 13, 2016, 12:30:17 PM »

Ella I am not up to chapters 15 & 16 yet.

My best friend's daughter just died at the age of 44 yr. old from diabetes. She had a stroke back in May, was battling to recover and was seeming to be doing okay, her Mom (my friend Barb) had just left her last Monday night, Tuesday at Bible study I asked how Chris was doing and Barb said okay she is just tired of being sick. Wednesday Barb tried calling her, there was no answer, so she called the neighbor to go check on Chris, and the neighbor found her in a coma. She was rushed to the hospital and put on life support. They did an mri and they said there was no brain function. At the request of the living will they had to remove her from life support and the funeral will be this Saturday. I know diabetes is manageable, and I wonder if Henrietta's cells helped in any way with diabetes.

PatH · « **Reply #119 on:** October 13, 2016, 01:31:45 PM »

Oh, dear, how sad. I don't think HeLa calls were involved in the improved treatment of diabetes, but I'll try to check.

15 & 16 have a lot of emotionally strong stuff, not good for someone grieving. Either take a break, or read some of the science chapters.

News:

Author Topic: The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot ~ Oct Book Club Online (Read 37455 times)