Henrietta Lacks: Originator of the Immortal HeLa Cell Line

Henrietta Lacks was a young African American mother of 5 when she was diagnosed with cervical cancer at the age of 31. She went to Johns Hopkins, the only hospital in the area that treated Black patients, and during a routine procedure, her cells were taken without her permission or consent. A second sample was extracted in the autopsy facility at Johns Hopkins after her death, again without her consent. We delve into science and ethics and consider what part race played in her treatment.