I must say I thoroughly enjoyed the book. Now that we have finished, what are your thoughts on using patients' tissues for research? Should patients decide how their tissues are used and should they be able to make a profit?
On the personal aspect of the book, I was sad when Deborah died. I was happy to read Zakariyya stopped drinking and the Lack's boys are carrying on the wishes of their sister. I wanted to know more about what the family is doing now. Did Davon and Alfred Jr. finish high school? Did they go to college? I still have so many questions. What are your questions? What do you want to know now that you have finished the book?
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I feel that patients should very well know about how their tissues are being used. If they are deceased, I feel as if the family of the person should be able to make that decision. Yes, I do believe the person and their family should make a profit off of it.If the person hadn't been willing to give their tissue, the doctors would have never had that sample, if all morals and humane decisions applied. However, in Henrietta's case, although her tissues were taken without her consent, I feel that the family should receive as much profit as possible.
ReplyDeleteI still want to know how the family is doing now. How has all of this HeLa stuff affected her future generations? Especially her family members she never met? I wonder if her youngest family members bring up HeLa in their science classes for discussion?
I totally agree with you. I think Henriettas tissues were taken without her consent, which was not right at all. Patients should not be treated like that. I also would like to know how Henrietta has affected future generations.
DeleteYour inquiries match mine. I want to know if any of Henrietta's relatives discussed their famed family member who practically changed mankind in class; I think that's really cool.
DeleteI agree with you as well. I feel that the Lacks family should have been compensated, especially for the fact that Henrietta's cells were taken without consent. I feel that they should have been at least recognized in the science community. Your questions are also quiet interesting, especially the one about younger family members bringing up HeLa cells for discussion in school. I wonder that too, and I also wonder how it would make them feel about having such a discussion in school. I wonder if they would be proud.
DeleteThey could not have been compensated, because no one at the time knew who Lacks was. There was a faceless name to her cells that was forever changed by Skloot. Schools all over the country are reading her books and their lives are foever changed by knowing her story. LeLa was mentio9ned in our lab books, for example. She will not be forgotten.
DeletePatients should definitley have say-so over what happens to their tissues. I feel that they a patient should either donate or not. If they donate then their tissues should be used for anything they can. Their families should definitley receive some profit, if their family members tissues helped in some type of research or scientific advancement.
ReplyDeleteThese last few chapters were very spiritual. I felt so upset when Deborah died. I felt like Skloot was very hurt about her death also. In the end,though, I felt Deborah was satisfied with her life and truly happy. I also had the same questions! I want to know more about Henrietta, and the Lacks family at the conclusion of this book.
i agree its their body and they should be able to decide how its used. i think deborah was happy to. after all she has been through abuse not having a mother her varies dieases and everything else i think seeing her mothr cells and actully understanding the impact it had on people and to know that her mothers death and cells helped millions well i think that kinda eased her soul.
DeleteThe main message the book had reinforced to me was that I am a human with my own bodily rights. It is solely my decision whether I want to donate an organ/cell/ or any part of my body to science. The book has made me become aware of the deleterious actions done by doctors and scientists, who strive ultimately to patent a medical discovery without patient's consent. I have not become paranoid, however I have become more aware of the rights I have as a human. I believe patients do have a say in what their tissues are used for, however their rights and interference may disrupt the discovery of something opulent.
ReplyDeleteI've become attached to this book and my emotions wavered constantly towards the end. I have many questions that have been left unanswered such as: Was Deborah buried next to her mother's grave? Where was Day buried? What was the funeral service like? Was there a small conference that was rescheduled after 9/11?
Patients should be able to decide how their tissue is used. It is their body and they should have all rights to it, even if it is a part of their body that has been removed. I do think patients should be able to make profit for allowing their tissues to be used. There is always a possibility that their tissue can be helpful in many advancements in medicine and science and they should be compensated for their contributions. I enjoyed the book as a whole, it was very insightful and gave me a range of emotions from happiness, to sadness, to absolute disgust. I was upset when I found out about all the deaths in the Lacks family in the last couple of chapters, especially Deborah. She was one of my favorite people in the book. But I think she was glad to finally be rid of all her earthly burdens and that spiritually, she was happy to go. Questions that I had were how are the younger generations of the Lacks family doing? Will anyone in the family ever go about suing John's Hopkins? Are they content with how much more recognition Henrietta as a person has received? Do they still feel like they are owed something in return for Henrietta's contributions to science? And are they still a bit burdened by the use of HeLa cells?
ReplyDeleteI would like to see what happens with HeLa cells in the future in regards to biotechnology. HeLa have already been in space, but plauisibly within the next 50 years there might be a man on the moon. New innovations in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathmatics pave the way for mankind as a whole's quality of life to increase, and new discoveries about our world.
ReplyDeleteIn the last few chapters, we see the family's final closure in reagards to Henrietta's death decades before. Her family was psychologically sick because of the state of affairs following her death, which is understandable knowing of the abuse, malnurishment, and mistreatment of the Lacks children. I especially felt for Deborah, who asa charater seemed the most psychologically sound but secretely was very very sick following her mother death. In regards to her own death, I feel she died peaceably without dramatic attention putting a stain on her living family. The family needed to heal, and Skloot gave them that opportunity.
i think reading this book has really shown us the importance of havng certain laws n place to prevent this from happening to another people. i think patients should have the rights over thier body and what happens to their tissue because it is theirs not the docoters. i also think they should be paided for it because if the doctors and compainies are benifitting from it then so should the family i think it all comes down to ethics and what is right.
ReplyDeleteiam a little upset that they didnt give us information on what happen to the lacks family after this and how they are doing now and it was really sad when deborah died but at least she died happy and with peace. its better then her dieng angery and not have known what they use her mom cells for and at least she with her mom now i hope.