Virginia native Henrietta Lacks is widely known today as the woman whose immortalized cell line contributed to major medical breakthroughs. While she was suffering from cervical cancer, doctors freely took her cells and discovered that her cell line that could reproduce indefinitely -- a first in the scientific community. Her cells were dubbed HeLa cells. #blackhistorymonth #blackhistory #shareblackstories✊🏾 https://bit.ly/3d5WDoD | 13News Now - WVEC

Henrietta Lacks was just 31 years old when she was one of a diverse group of patients who unknowingly donated cells at John Hopkins University. Her cells began what was the first, and, for many years, the only human cell line able to reproduce indefinitely. Her cells were used for a number of medical advancements, but her own family wasn’t informed of this until years after the fact. #HistoryHonors250 | HISTORY