The
novel is based on the true story of an American woman who died from
cervical cancer on October 4, 1951, at 12:30 A.M. at the age of thirty-one .
The
cells from Henrietta's tumor were given to researcher George Gey
(for further research) by the doctor treating her for cancer. Gey "discovered
that [Henrietta's] cells did something they'd never seen before: They could be
kept alive and grow." Cells cultured from other cells only
survived for a few days. Gey multiplied the cells and started a cell line, he
named the cells HeLa.
By
1954, the HeLa strain of cells was being used by Jonas Salk to
develop a vaccine for polio. To test Salk's new vaccine,
the cells were quickly put into mass production in the first-ever cell
production factory.
Buried
without a tombstone in a family cemetery in Lackstown, Virginia, Henrietta's exact burial
location is unknown.
Yet,
she lives immortal.
Source: Wikipedia
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