Book Report on The Immortal Life of Henretta Lacks - Essay Example

? Book Report on “The Immortal Life of Henretta Lacks” Introduction The book is about the life of Henrietta Lacks, an African American who born on August 2, 1920 and died on October 4, 1951. Written by a Science Journalist, Rebecca Skloot reveals the untold story behind the first immortal human cells and appeared in The New York Times Magazine. The cells that belong to Henrietta Lacks are known by the code name HeLa. When Henrietta died in 1951 because of the cervix cancer, cells from her cancerous tumor were cultured by George Otto Gey and create immortal cell line for medical research. HeLa were the first human cells vigorous enough to survive outside the human body, have been productive enough, increased and multiply in test tubes long after her death. Henrietta’s family had no idea that the said cells were used according to this purpose until during the year 1970’s where the medical companies merchandised the cells for profit purposes. Rebecca Skloot describes the HeLa cells as undergoing mitosis which defines in the normal cells as dividing into two. Currently, there are over 50 metric tons of the said cells that are still booming, and flourishing. This New York Times best sellers takes the readers to an extra ordinary journey from the John Hopkins Hospital in the 1950’s to winning several awards including 2010 Chicago Tribune Heartland Prize for non fiction, 2010 Wellcome Trust Book Prize, 2011 Audie award, and has been featured on over 60 critics’ best of the year list. The Main Theme of the Book The book tries to share the excitement and unbelievable discovering of the cancer cells, round and smooth, quivering and shaking violently until breaking into five cancer cells that gave the sign of immortality after the death of the body where it originated from. However, the main theme about the book of “The immortal Life of Henrietta” is not about the rapid reproducing of the cells nor how the family owed by the legacy of Henrietta but rather, it is the Lacks doctors’ experimentation and later distribution of her cells without the family’s knowing and approval. It is considered to be a conspiracy of the cell that brought to the medical society scandal in 1985. Nevertheless, the love of the family is seen evidently strong and it is considered as one of the main theme of the book. The Primary Characters of the Book Henrietta Lacks is the main characters of the book. The book tells her story from her being a tobacco farmer down to the bed of the hospital of John Hopkins, from her death to the immortality of her cancer cells. One of the main characters to be considered in the book is the family of Henrietta, they could hardly understand why despite the death of their loved ones, Henrietta’s cells still exists and live. However, the love for the family remains strong and the search for justice and to unravel the truth continues. Implications of the Ethical Leadership and Cultural Competence During the time wherein Henrietta Lacks hospitalized at John Hopkins hospital, there is no Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) to govern and approve their research protocols during that time. Even the people who are discriminated and belong to the black race are illiterate about the procedures in relations to the rights of the patient while in the premise of the hospital. Giving the comparison in the evolution of the biomedical evolution during the 1940’s-1970’s between the dilemmas that facing us today, during the time of the HeLa cell dissemination, informed consent was the main point of debate, whereas at the present, two core elements of ethics in biomedical research: privacy and managing conflicts of interest. Recently, the HIPAA privacy rule was enacted. It is a security standards and safeguards for the use of electronic health care information as well as the creation of the privacy standards for protected health information. However, the rules claim equality among all members of the community regardless of the race. How Various Aspect of the Seven Revolution Woven into the Book In the “Immortal life of Henrietta Lacks”, Rebecca Skloot introduces the readers to many revolutions of many kinds. There is the real “live woman”, her family that survived her and the existence of racism, poverty, science, and most importantly, one of the most useful medical discoveries of the last 100 years. Science was narrated coherently, present the racial politics of medicine thoughtfully and an overwhelming explanation to the family of the continuous existence of Henrietta lacks through the cells HeLa. Conclusion I could relevantly say that Rebecca skloot wrote an angering, compassionate, and a book looking not only at the science made materialized by HeLa but has also exposed the arrogance, hypocrisy and heartlessness among individuals and establishment within the scientific research. I would also have to say that she has balance telling the story by talking about the family of Henrietta and their strong relationship. Nevertheless, the book is inspiring and educative. It is also an eye opener to the medical society, researchers, and scientist. References Skloot. R. (2010). The Immortal Life of Henrietta lacks. Crown Publishers, p.369 Read More