Cell line: HeLa Cells
Cell type: Human cervix carcinoma
Origin: Taken from cervix carcinoma of a 31 year Henrietta Lacks in 1951
Morphology: Epithelial-like cells growing in monolayers

HeLa Cells of Henrietta Lacks

Henrietta Lacks was a black woman who died of cervical cancer in 1951 at the Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. Her cervical cells were taken and grown in culture by a scientist called George Otto Gey. It grew like no other cells and it became the most widely used cell line in the world and helped in many medical discoveries including the polio vaccination and currently spearing heading research in AIDS. It was the first human immortal cell line. Her cells were grown commercially and companies made lots of money from her cells without Henrietta’s or her family’s consent. Sadly, the Lacks families had no clue about the existence of her cells till a few years ago. They were so poor that they could not even afford health insurance. Read more about this amazing cell line and the woman called Henrietta Lacks. Read more about this amazing cell line and the woman called Henrietta Lacks.
HeLa Cells of Henrietta Lacks
HeLa Cells of Henrietta Lacks 


HeLa Cells - News