International News
Woman Whose Cells Never Died: The Story of Henrietta Lacks
In 1951, Henrietta Lacks went to Johns Hopkins for cervical cancer treatment. Without her knowledge, doctors took her tumor cells. Those cells — named HeLa — became the first human cells to survive and multiply indefinitely in a lab. They helped create the polio vaccine, cancer treatments, HIV research, and even COVID-19 vaccines. Henrietta died at 31, never knowing her legacy. Her story forces us to ask: How do we pursue scientific progress without losing sight of dignity and consent?
