Thursday, April 21, 2011

Legacy of Immortality - The Story of Henrietta Lacks



While vacationing with my family in Jamaica, the Island of sunny skies and warm people, I was able to leave behind our hectic work and home life. So between eating the speciality dishes, climbing the falls of Dunn River; swimming with Dolphins, Sharks and Stingrays at Dolphin Cove and Bobsledding in Mystic Mountain, I read. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks.

The story of Henrietta Lacks is both disturbing and comforting. Disturbing in the unsettled nature of the acquisition of her cells and comforting in the contribution her cells have made and continue to make to advances in science. "HeLa" the name of Henreitta Lacks' cells which continue to live and multiply well after her death in 1951 were vital in the development of the polio vaccine, gene mapping and helped in developing drugs for influenza, Parkinson's disease and continues to aid cancer research and all other medical research.

Henreitta Lack's stories raises for me yet another question regarding our assets and the extent to which we can control the distribution of them during and after our lifetime. Contact us at http://www.ythlaw.com/ with your estate planning, elder law and probate questions.

No comments: