#HenriettaLacks (nee #LorettaPleasant aka #HeLa) was a wife and mother who, in death, saved the lives of millions and made major contributions to medical science. On January 29, 1951 Mrs Lacks went to Johns Hopkins hospital (the only hospital in the area that treated Black patients at the time) complaining of feeling like there was a "knot" in her womb and suffering from severe hemorrhage. She was diagnosed with malignant epidermoid carcinoma of the cervix and after a short period of treatment, she died in October of 1951 leaving behind a husband and 5 children at the age of 31. During her treatment, doctors took samples of her cervical cells without her permission or knowledge. One sample contained healthy cells the other contained cancerous cells. The cancerous cells eventually became known as #HeLaCells an immortal cell line (they can grow and reproduce indefinitely) that came to be commonly used in contemporary biomedical research. All well and good except for the fact that neither she nor her family was informed of the existence of the cells, their ubiquity, or the advances that had been made due to their existence until the 1970s, even though doctors and researchers were well aware of their origins. Her family also had to fight to receive monetary compensation for their use, even though the cells were arguably worth billions or even priceless. In the 1980s family medical records were published without family consent. In March 2013 researchers published the DNA sequence of the genome of a strain of HeLa cells. The Lacks family was only made aware of this when author Rebecca Skloot (author of #TheImmortalLifeOfHenriettaLacks) informed them. There is much more to the story and the family was eventually vindicated and remunerated for their sacrifice. If you're interested read Rebecca Skloot's book and watch the upcoming film of the same name starring #OprahWinfrey (source Wikipedia) #blackhistoryyear #blackhistorymonth #BlackGirlMagic✨