Henrietta Lacks

Born 1920-08-01
Died 1951-10-04

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Afro-American woman, born August 1. 1920; died October 4, 1951.

Biography of Henrietta Lacks

Henrietta Lacks was diagnosed with a malignant carcinoma of the cervix at the Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore in 1951. The story of this amazingly robust and fast-growing cell-type began when George Gey (1899-1979), head of tissue culture research at Hopkins, took a samle before applying the first treatment to the patient. The celles were cultured without the permission og her family which was  not even informed and learned about the world-wide use of her cells years later.

HeLa cells played a vital role in the development of polio vaccine.

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