Summary and Analysis of The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks: Based on the Book by Rebecca Skloot (Smart Summaries) Paperback – May 16, 2017

I have known about Henrietta Lacks for some time...just another advantage taken away from people of color without acknowledging contributions made to science and the betterment of humankind.

I watched the movie, got the audible version as well. I will say Oprah faded into her character in the movie of the same title. Good breakdown of info. Must read.

Good.

Great job!

I had heard about this lady and wanted to find out more.I think the summary did a good job telling her story without going into so much detail.

Great product!

I find a central argument in the book terribly misleading, that Henrietta and the Lacks, because of their race, were mistreated and traumatized by John Hopkins and the medical establishment because they didn't ask Henrietta for prior consent for taking her tissue for medical research during a procedure and her family was not compensated monetarily.I’m a history professor who is also a diehard non-white liberal whose sympathies has always been with the African-Americans and other underprivileged people.I'm also a cancer patient for 7 years. I never thought twice before giving consent to having my tissue taken during a surgery or procedure and giving extra blood during a bloodwork for the good of research to improve the health of the humanity. It would a great honor to me if my cells are made into an eternal cell-line. You realize that your doctor is going to cut out the cancer or tissues ANYWAY and the tissues they need for research is typically very tiny. How does it constitute a grave mistreatment of the patient and traumatization of her family for decades? Johns Hopkins even gave her free treatment, right?The narrative structure of the book, pairing sections and chapters of the Lacks poverty and problems with medical progresses, clever as it is, also creates an impression that these progresses have be built on the Lacks sufferings and sacrifices, which is simply untrue.Yes, we patients should be asked for consent in the first place. Thankfully, a law regarding this was passed by the Congress 20 some years after Henrietta's death. But Henrietta wasn't asked for consent not because she was black, but because that was not standard practice regardless the subject's race. The concept wasn't there yet.As for the issue of compensation, if we patients ask for payment for tissues, making it a monetary transaction, what a nightmare it would be for medical research?Finally, I see a parallel between doctors taking and use Henrietta's tissue for research without paying her or her family and Rebecca Skloot's taking materials from the family and then sold her manuscript without giving a penny to the family. I'm sure Skloot consider her book a product of her work. But wasn't Dr. Gey's work to create a first eternal cell-line work?I consider Dr. Gey the true hero in this whole saga, who never asked for a single penny for his extraordinary work to advance medical sciences.

the summary is so good I started the book (for school)