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The World Health Organization (WHO) paid tribute to Henrietta Lacks, acknowledging the heritage of a black woman who changed the world. Her cancer cells provided the basis for life-changing medical breakthroughs, but she was caught without her knowledge or consent. take away.
In the 1950s, when Larks was seeking treatment for cervical cancer at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, researchers extracted tissue from her body and created the so-called HeLa cell, which became the first cell to divide indefinitely in the laboratory The “immortal thread” of human cells.
In acknowledging Henrietta Lacks, the WHO stated that it wanted to resolve a “historical error” and pointed out that the global scientific community had concealed her ethnicity and true story.
Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said: “WHO recognizes the importance of liquidating past scientific injustices and promoting racial equality in health and science.” “This is also an opportunity to recognize women-especially people of color. Kind of women-they have made incredible but often unknown contributions to medical science.”
In the early 1940s, Henrietta and her husband David Larks moved from Clover, Virginia to Baltimore, Maryland, shortly after [The Lacks Family via AP Photo]Lax died of cervical cancer in October 1951 at the age of 31. Her eldest son, 87-year-old Lawrence Lax, won an award from the World Health Organization at the Geneva headquarters. Accompanying him are several of her grandchildren, great-grandchildren and other family members.
“We are very happy to receive this historic recognition from my mother Henrietta Lacks-respecting her identity as an outstanding woman and the lasting influence of her HeLa cells. My mother’s contribution was once hidden, but now it is global Influenced and received due respect,” Lacks said.
“My mother is a pioneer in life, giving back to the community, helping others to live better lives and caring for others. In death, she continues to help the world. Her legacy is in our hearts forever, and we thank you for saying her name— —Henrietta Lax.”
Tan Desai pointed out that black people like Henrietta Lacks suffer from racial discrimination in healthcare. The problem is stay In many places in the world today.
“Henrietta Lacks has been exploited. She is one of many women of color whose bodies have been abused by science,” he said. “She trusted the health system so that she could receive treatment. But the system took something from her without her knowledge or consent.”
change life
The head of the WHO stated that women of color continue to be affected by cervical cancer, and the COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the continuing health inequalities affecting marginalized communities around the world. He said that studies from different countries have shown that black women die from cervical cancer several times the rate of white women, and 19 of the 20 countries with the highest burden of cervical cancer are in Africa.
The HPV vaccine can prevent a series of cancers including cervical cancer. It is currently being routinely vaccinated in many girls around the world, hoping to eliminate this disease.
However, WHO stated that as of 2020, less than 25% of low-income countries and less than 30% of low- and middle-income countries have HPV vaccine as part of their national immunization programs, compared to more than 85 percent of high-income countries.
Tedros’ special adviser, Princess Nosemba (Nono) Simeleira, said: “Access to a life-saving HPV vaccine will be affected by race, ethnicity, or place of birth, which is unacceptable.”
“The HPV vaccine was developed using Henrietta Lacks cells. Although these cells were taken away without her consent and without her knowledge, her legacy may save millions of lives. We She and her family should be given fair access to this groundbreaking vaccine.”
Larks, who lives near Baltimore with her husband and five children, went to Johns Hopkins University after experiencing severe vaginal bleeding, where she was diagnosed with cervical cancer.
The HeLa cell line was developed from her tumor. These cells were produced on a large scale for profit and were not approved by her family. They only discovered that they were used in science in the 1970s. Her life and legacy are recorded in The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot, which was later made into a movie.
Earlier this month, Lax’s estate was transferred to suing a pharmaceutical company that used the HeLa cell line. According to Reuters, the operation showed that the company had made a “conscious choice” to produce cells on a large scale and profit from a “racially unjust medical system.”
According to the World Health Organization, since the removal of HeLa cells from Lax, more than 50,000,000 metric tons of HeLa cells have been distributed all over the world.
The cells extracted from Henrietta Lacks provided the basis for the HPV vaccine, which completely changed the response to cervical cancer and brought hope that it might be eliminated [File: Vincent Kessler/Reuters]Like HPV, this cell line is essential for the development of polio vaccines and drugs to treat HIV/AIDS, hemophilia, leukemia, and Parkinson’s disease. It has also led to breakthroughs in reproductive health, including in vitro fertilization, and has been used in thousands of studies, including COVID-19.
“The fight to eradicate cervical cancer is part of a larger fight for human rights,” said Dr. Groesbeck Parham, who participated in the civil rights movement in Alabama as a teenager and is now a clinical expert on the WHO Cervical Cancer Elimination Initiative .
“Through her immortal cells, Mrs. Henrietta Lax talked to us and called on us to pay attention to millions of young women and mothers in low-income countries. They still continue to die of cervical cancer because they cannot obtain it and cannot afford it. Buy life-saving medicines. Medicines, technologies, and medical procedures that are easily available in high-income countries. The spiritual and legacy of Mrs. Henrietta Lacks raises the question: “Why does this happen? “, “What is the solution? “And “When do you plan to implement them?” “
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