We all know someone who has benefitted from the advances of modern medicine: a child who has received a life saving vaccine; a cancer patient who has received chemotherapy; a baby born through in vitro fertilization. But what most of us don’t know is that all of these medical advances have come to us courtesy of one woman’s cells.

On October 4th, 1951, a 31-year-old woman named Henrietta Lacksdied of cervical cancer. Henrietta was buried in an unmarked grave, and her legacy was largely forgotten. But cells harvested from her tumour lived on to do something incredible. They became the first “immortal” cells in history. Henrietta’s cells – known as HeLa cells – were grown in a way that allowed them to live on outside of the human body, and to reproduce indefinitely.

HeLa cells opened up a new world opened up a new world of possibility for scientists. The cells allowed them to understand disease like never before. And eventually scientists used HeLa cells to make some of the most important medical advances in history.

While Henrietta’s cells were changing the face of modern medicine, the family she had left behind was kept in the dark. Henrietta’s husband and five children had no idea that the HeLa cells were providing the key to multiple medical breakthroughs.

It was a chance encounter with a medical researcher that led to the family’s discovery of Henrietta’s legacy. When the researcher said that he was working with the cells of a woman named Henrietta Lacks, the family was shocked. They discovered that Henrietta’s cells had been harvested without anyone knowing. And they discovered how her cells had been crucial to countless scientific breakthroughs. This was the immortal legacy of their mother.

While it took decades for Henrietta’s story to emerge, her amazing legacy has finally been recognized. In place of her unmarked grave, her family built a memorial. Henrietta’s tombstone now remembers her as a woman who ‘touched the lives of many’.

Over the years, scientists have grown over 20,000 kilograms of HeLa cells. And through these cells, they’ve learned a great deal about biology, disease and medicine. They have helped to cure diseases, produce vaccines, pioneer medical treatments, and ultimately save lives. And behind all of these lives saved is an African American tobacco farmer and mother of five, who history has forgotten.

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