The Family's Personal Encounter with Henrietta's Cells

Key Economic Insight

On May 11, 2001, Deborah and Zakariyya visited Christoph Lengauer's lab at Hopkins to see their mother's cells; other family members were unable or unwilling to attend. After a tense interaction outside the lab, marked by Zakariyya's anger and Deborah's attempts to manage it, they proceeded to a freezer room. Christoph opened a floor-to-ceiling freezer, releasing a cloud of steam as it housed thousands of inch-tall plastic vials containing cells stored at minus 80 Celsius. Deborah initially screamed, then gasped, 'Oh God, I can't believe all that's my mother,' upon recognizing the vast quantity of cells as her own.

Christoph explained that these vials contained millions, potentially billions, of Henrietta's cells, labeled 'H-e-L-a', capable of indefinite preservation and growth when thawed. In the lab, he detailed the process of cultivating cells in gallon-sized jugs for various experiments, including testing new cancer drugs, demonstrating the progression from cells to animals, and finally to human trials. Through diagrams, Deborah learned that DNA, the genetic information comprising 46 chromosomes within each cell's nucleus, determined Henrietta's physical traits. Crucially, she discovered her mother's cancer stemmed from an HPV-induced DNA mistake, not an inheritable condition, which brought her immense relief.

Viewing the cells under a microscope, initially a hazy green, they observed hundreds of individual cells at higher magnification. Christoph pointed out a cell undergoing division, emphasizing, 'That cell is dividing into two cells right before our eyes! And both of those cells will have your mother's DNA in them.' This mesmerizing sight of her mother's cells actively reproducing, a process mirroring her embryonic development, left both in a trance-like state. Later, observing the cells stained an 'ethereal fluorescent green' through the microscope, Deborah whispered, 'They're beautiful,' expressing profound disbelief at finally seeing her mother's cellular form and stating, 'this is my mother. Nobody seem to get that.' She ultimately described the entire experience as a 'miracle'.