This book does an excellent job in effectively illustrating the significance of the lives of Henrietta Lacks and her family, her scientific contributions, and the impact on her family. The way Skloot describes what happened to Henrietta from beginning to end, as well as what happens with her family from beginning to end tells a clear story and allows the reader to follow along through the Henrietta’s and the family’s timeline during a hugely significant time for them.
I see no problematic elements as to how Skloot portrays Lacks and her family. The details and depth in which Skloot portrays the parties involved helps the reader understand exactly what happened, how it happened, why it happened, and how the family was impacted. One example of this great detail is quoting Deborah’s exact words throughout the book, capturing her accent and unique dialogue, as Skloot does when Deborah speaks at the HeLa Cancer Control Symposium, “Excuse me if I mispronouncing a word… but I’m not ashamed of it.” (p. 220) By quoting her exact words, this raw insight allowed the reader to also feel more connected and sympathetic towards Lacks and her family. Additionally, I fully agree with Lengauer’s quote that it is important to know Henrietta Lacks. I believe that it is imperative and a basic act of human decency and thoughtfulness to pay tribute and honor the individual whose cells have resulted in a number of medical discoveries, especially considering the manner in which her cells were obtained. After all, it is unfortunate that HeLa cells were only obtained from Henrietta due to her falling ill and needing treatment at the hospital; “her cells are how it all started,” as Lengauer states. (p. 267)
Henrietta Lacks’ story sheds light on a much larger issue regarding regulation and oversight. It has helped readers and future healthcare professionals understand the risks and long-term results of being unethical in the medical field. Because of this realization, learning about her story has encouraged and helped me to become a more ethical leader. I have learned that full transparency between one party to another and following appropriate procedures in any situation are important to ensuring quality care for patients as well as ensuring you are being an ethical healthcare professional. I have also learned that one action, in this case Gey obtaining Henrietta’s cells from her cervix while she was in for treatment, has a string of consequences for all parties involved that can have a lasting positive or negative impact on them, which in this case was a negative impact on her family. This shows that while the positive end result should be considered, the impact of the action taken to achieve this result should also be equally considered.
There are many ways in which medical professionals can prevent unethical practices. One way is by practicing the Nuremburg Code in good faith since it “…wasn’t law. It was essentially a list of recommendations,” and lawyers in the US could use this code to, “establish whether a scientist [is] acting within the ethical boundaries of the profession.” (Skloot, 2010 p. 131-132) A stronger emphasis than what already exists on practicing the Nuremburg Code can lead to a decrease in unethical practices, especially ones pertaining to obtaining patient informed consent. Another preventative measure could be for healthcare facilities and organizations to hold periodic policy trainings solely focused on ethics and its role in healthcare. This way, the trainings can be monitored and controlled and can be made mandatory to attend.
Overall, I believe this book did a great job in highlighting the woman behind the HeLa cells and her family. Through the detailed explanations of all the wrongdoings and privacy violations that occurred with the procurement of HeLa cells, readers were able to understand the importance of informed consent and proper ethical practices when dealing with patients and bodily tissues. The style in which the book was written, the research that was included, and all of the malpractice that was highlighted by Skloot was a raw and authentic take on the story of Henrietta Lacks and HeLa cells.
References
Skloot, R. (2010). Illegal, Immoral, and Deplorable . In The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks (pp. 131–132). chapter, Broadway.
Skloot, R. (2010). After London . In The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks (pp. 220). chapter, Broadway.
Skloot, R. (2010). All That’s My Mother . In The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks (pp. 267). chapter, Broadway.
I see no problematic elements as to how Skloot portrays Lacks and her family. The details and depth in which Skloot portrays the parties involved helps the reader understand exactly what happened, how it happened, why it happened, and how the family was impacted. One example of this great detail is quoting Deborah’s exact words throughout the book, capturing her accent and unique dialogue, as Skloot does when Deborah speaks at the HeLa Cancer Control Symposium, “Excuse me if I mispronouncing a word… but I’m not ashamed of it.” (p. 220) By quoting her exact words, this raw insight allowed the reader to also feel more connected and sympathetic towards Lacks and her family. Additionally, I fully agree with Lengauer’s quote that it is important to know Henrietta Lacks. I believe that it is imperative and a basic act of human decency and thoughtfulness to pay tribute and honor the individual whose cells have resulted in a number of medical discoveries, especially considering the manner in which her cells were obtained. After all, it is unfortunate that HeLa cells were only obtained from Henrietta due to her falling ill and needing treatment at the hospital; “her cells are how it all started,” as Lengauer states. (p. 267)
Henrietta Lacks’ story sheds light on a much larger issue regarding regulation and oversight. It has helped readers and future healthcare professionals understand the risks and long-term results of being unethical in the medical field. Because of this realization, learning about her story has encouraged and helped me to become a more ethical leader. I have learned that full transparency between one party to another and following appropriate procedures in any situation are important to ensuring quality care for patients as well as ensuring you are being an ethical healthcare professional. I have also learned that one action, in this case Gey obtaining Henrietta’s cells from her cervix while she was in for treatment, has a string of consequences for all parties involved that can have a lasting positive or negative impact on them, which in this case was a negative impact on her family. This shows that while the positive end result should be considered, the impact of the action taken to achieve this result should also be equally considered.
There are many ways in which medical professionals can prevent unethical practices. One way is by practicing the Nuremburg Code in good faith since it “…wasn’t law. It was essentially a list of recommendations,” and lawyers in the US could use this code to, “establish whether a scientist [is] acting within the ethical boundaries of the profession.” (Skloot, 2010 p. 131-132) A stronger emphasis than what already exists on practicing the Nuremburg Code can lead to a decrease in unethical practices, especially ones pertaining to obtaining patient informed consent. Another preventative measure could be for healthcare facilities and organizations to hold periodic policy trainings solely focused on ethics and its role in healthcare. This way, the trainings can be monitored and controlled and can be made mandatory to attend.
Overall, I believe this book did a great job in highlighting the woman behind the HeLa cells and her family. Through the detailed explanations of all the wrongdoings and privacy violations that occurred with the procurement of HeLa cells, readers were able to understand the importance of informed consent and proper ethical practices when dealing with patients and bodily tissues. The style in which the book was written, the research that was included, and all of the malpractice that was highlighted by Skloot was a raw and authentic take on the story of Henrietta Lacks and HeLa cells.
References
Skloot, R. (2010). Illegal, Immoral, and Deplorable . In The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks (pp. 131–132). chapter, Broadway.
Skloot, R. (2010). After London . In The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks (pp. 220). chapter, Broadway.
Skloot, R. (2010). All That’s My Mother . In The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks (pp. 267). chapter, Broadway.