When you visit any cell culture laboratory around the world, you may encounter billions of cells from Henrietta stored there.
In the past and present, immortality has remained a dream for humanity. However, you may not know that there was a woman who possessed immortal cells. These cells have opened many doors for modern medicine. Surprisingly, because they are immortal, after her cells were stored, they have divided millions and millions of times. To date, the total number of immortal human cells has reached 50 million tons.
Henrietta Lacks, the owner of immortal cells.
When you visit any cell culture laboratory around the world, you may find billions of Henrietta’s cells stored by scientists there. Henrietta Lacks was an African American tobacco farmer.
Henrietta Lacks was born on August 1, 1920, in Roanoke, Virginia, USA. At the age of 31, the mother of five went to the Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore due to cervical pain and abnormal bleeding. Upon examination, doctors discovered a tumor in her cervix. Just 8 months after the diagnosis, on October 4, 1951, Lacks passed away and was buried in an unmarked grave, according to Newsweek.
During her treatment at the hospital, doctors took samples of her cancer cells and sent them to the laboratory for analysis. These cells were very unusual. While most human cells can only survive a few days in laboratory conditions, Lacks’ cells continued to grow and divide continuously as if they were immortal. This type of “immortality” is common in cancer cells, but Lacks’ cells reproduced particularly quickly. Thus, they were used to create the first immortal human cell line, known as HeLa cells, named after Lacks.
These cells were quickly multiplied in large quantities and distributed to laboratories worldwide. They have since been used to support nearly 75,000 studies, leading to significant breakthroughs in various fields such as vaccine development, cancer treatment, and reproduction.
While our normal cells die after a certain number of reproductions, Henrietta’s cells can live indefinitely if provided with the necessary nutrients to survive. They can even be frozen for decades and then revived by returning to room temperature.
For over 60 years, it is estimated that there could be up to 50 million tons of cells produced from the original cells of Henrietta that were collected. They have contributed significantly to research on curing polio; mapping genes; learning how cells work; developing drugs to treat cancer, herpes, leukemia, influenza, hemophilia, Parkinson’s disease, AIDS, and more.
Henrietta Lacks’ cells distributed across laboratories worldwide.
Before Henrietta’s cells were discovered, scientists were nearly unable to store and multiply human cells in large quantities outside the body. Most would die very quickly. Henrietta’s cells set a new standard for scientists to conduct unprecedented research.
Lacks’ cells were used to enhance understanding of cervical cancer that took her life. In 1985, German scientists, led by Nobel laureate Harald zur Hausen, discovered that HeLa cells contained multiple copies of the human papillomavirus type 18 (HPV-18), a dangerous strain of the virus that causes cervical cancer. This discovery paved the way for the development of the HPV vaccine decades later. Today, the HPV vaccine is widely used, reducing the rate of cervical cancer in young women by two-thirds. HeLa cells have also been used to develop treatments that slow the progression of cancer.
Henrietta Lacks passed away from cervical cancer in 1951. (Photo: Henrietta Lacks Foundation).
HeLa cells have also indirectly enhanced human understanding of the universe. Since 1964, HeLa cells have been sent into space to study the effects of radiation and space travel on human cells.
Although Henrietta’s cells have made significant contributions to humanity’s medical achievements, her family was unaware of this. For six decades, her husband and five children lived in poverty without receiving any compensation for Henrietta’s cell contributions. It was not until 2013 that the National Institutes of Health began to recognize her contributions and took steps to support the remaining members of Henrietta’s family.
