On February 1, 1951 Henrietta Lacks walked into John’s Hopkins Hospital with a complaint of vaginal bleeding and a painful lump. When tissue samples were collected and examined, they became the marvel that changed medicine forever.

Henrietta’s ‘Immortal’ cells were retrieved without her consent or knowledge and scientists were in awe at their unusual ability to survive and grow unlike other cells that, after a few cell divisions, would die.

Unfortunately, Henrietta received a diagnosis of incurable metastatic cervical cancer and she passed away shortly after. Her cells, however, were the foundation for scientific innovation with pharmaceutical companies patenting novel means of utilizing her cells and reaping huge profits as a result.

Henrietta’s family was kept in the dark for decades, only to be mislead and deceived by researchers seeking to study their genetic material under the guise of monitoring for hereditary disease. They have been seeking justice for many years with recent undisclosed settlements from companies which have unjustly profited off her cells. Still, one can reasonably question, what is the true price of justice in cases such as these?

This is the first episode of several recognizing impactful women this Women’s History Month 2026.

You can learn more about Henrietta Lacks by reading ‘Medical Apartheid’ by Harriett Washington, ‘Henrietta Lacks -The Untold Story’ by her eldest grandson Ron Lacks and ‘The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks ‘by Rebecca Skloot.

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