The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

Her name was Henrietta Lacks, but scientists know her as HeLa. Born a poor black tobacco farmer, her cancer cells -- taken without her knowledge -- became a multimillion-dollar industry and one of the most important tools in medicine.

Henrietta Lacks died of cervical cancer in 1951. Since that time, her cancer cells were kept alive and used in research around the world, although the identity of the cells was, until recently, unknown.

This book tells of how the author befriended Henrietta’s daughter and examines the ethical implications of using human tissue for research.