Science and Medical non-fiction came to life for members of the Park Grove Library Book Club as we talked and discussed The Immmortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. The leader had a question for us when we arrived. Fourteen of us were at this discussion.
Some members said they had heard of HELA cells but didn't know the history behind it. Others had never heard of this. Pre-cancerous screening has it's origins in these cells, one person shared. Another said it is amazing how science has progressed, and now we have genetic testing! Another said how primitive it was back in '51 -- you accepted whatever it was. There was a movie about this, some have seen, and a member said it wasn't as much science in it. They thought the science part was more interesting in the book. The book was written with the family information, Henrietta's story and then the medical side of it. They were woven together in the book and someone said, they needed to be told together in this format.
Rebecca Skloot did extensive research into this, but one member said it was too long/too deep. The book could have been condensed a bit. Another said it was hard to get through all the science part of it.
One member said she was surprised at how racist medical field was, they were being taken advantage of.
The family knew so little about what had happened. One member said she was "surprised by how much abuse all those kids suffered and they survived somehow. I don't think that was typical for a lot of families." We found the daughter Deborah fascinating.
"There were ethical issues here, so much more than legal issues," someone said. We talked about how laws has changed over time, looking through this material. HPPA is one major change now, the need to consent and to inform people. But, "you don't always know what you consent to."
We talked about using our medical information for "the better cause." Will we always know what our medical information is being used for. Should it be used without consent?
We spent a bit of time discussing of whether it was right to earn money off HELA cells or any medical procedure. The family never saw any money from it but some doctors or researchers did. Now many companies make lots of money off it. How can you forecast the meaning of something down the line? So many things have changed and were affected by the HELA cells. We owe Henrietta Lacks a debt of gratitude, and Rebecca Skloot for telling the story.
Some members said they had heard of HELA cells but didn't know the history behind it. Others had never heard of this. Pre-cancerous screening has it's origins in these cells, one person shared. Another said it is amazing how science has progressed, and now we have genetic testing! Another said how primitive it was back in '51 -- you accepted whatever it was. There was a movie about this, some have seen, and a member said it wasn't as much science in it. They thought the science part was more interesting in the book. The book was written with the family information, Henrietta's story and then the medical side of it. They were woven together in the book and someone said, they needed to be told together in this format.
Rebecca Skloot did extensive research into this, but one member said it was too long/too deep. The book could have been condensed a bit. Another said it was hard to get through all the science part of it.
One member said she was surprised at how racist medical field was, they were being taken advantage of.
The family knew so little about what had happened. One member said she was "surprised by how much abuse all those kids suffered and they survived somehow. I don't think that was typical for a lot of families." We found the daughter Deborah fascinating.
"There were ethical issues here, so much more than legal issues," someone said. We talked about how laws has changed over time, looking through this material. HPPA is one major change now, the need to consent and to inform people. But, "you don't always know what you consent to."
We talked about using our medical information for "the better cause." Will we always know what our medical information is being used for. Should it be used without consent?
We spent a bit of time discussing of whether it was right to earn money off HELA cells or any medical procedure. The family never saw any money from it but some doctors or researchers did. Now many companies make lots of money off it. How can you forecast the meaning of something down the line? So many things have changed and were affected by the HELA cells. We owe Henrietta Lacks a debt of gratitude, and Rebecca Skloot for telling the story.
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