Book of the Month–November 2011
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
by Rebecca Skloot
Henrietta Lacks lived a short, tragic life. After giving birth to her fifth child in 1950 she was diagnosed with cervical cancer. During treatment, she became the involuntary donor of cancerous cells that were cultured to create an immortal cell line for medical research. Called the HeLa cells, they have been used by scientists around the world and have been used in cancer, AIDs and countless other research projects. The cells were used by Jonas Salk as he was developing the polio vaccine. There are an 11,000 patents that have involved the cells in some way.
Although the cells have generated billions of dollars for the pharmaceutical industry, Lacks was not as fortunate. She died shortly after the cancer diagnosis at the age of 31 and is buried in an unmarked grave in Virginia. Her family was unaware of her contribution until the 1970s when they were contacted by scientists wanting additional information about their relative.
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks was named one of the best books of 2010 by more than 60 critics.
The book is also available in these formats:
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