Henrietta Lacks House "HeLa House" was created to honor Henrietta Lacks and the contribution she has made to every one of us on this planet. Henrietta unknowingly changed the world with her immortal DNA cells.  

After Henrietta’s death in 1951, a scientist discovered that Henrietta’s DNA cells lived outside of her body and they never died. In contrast, all other human cells died after a few hours. Not only did Henrietta’s cells stay alive in the lab, but the cells also replicated every 24 hours. 

The immortal DNA cells were coined “HeLa” which combined the first 2 letters of her first name and the first 2 letters of her last name. This huge medical breakthrough allowed researchers to conduct experiments on human cells outside of the body. HeLa cells have played a crucial role in medical science.

Scientists have continued to use the immortal HeLa cell line all over the world. Research involving polio vaccines, chemotherapy, HIV/Aids, cloning, and IVF have all benefited from the HeLa cell line.