““I want to tell them a little what HeLa means to me
as a young cancer researcher, and how grateful I am for their donation years
ago” he wrote. “I do not represent Hopkins, but I am part of it. In a way I
might even want to apologize.”” (Skloot, 234)
Apologies
are always difficult, especially if you are not the one at fault; however, Christoph
Lengauer a cancer researcher at John Hopkins Hospital saw the importance of an
apology to the Lacks family. I think this was a huge step in the novel; finally
a researcher that had used Henrietta’s cells had apologized for the disservice
that her family had experienced. This one simple step was exactly what the
Lacks family needed. It was clear that Deborah was grateful for the gift and
appreciated the apology even though she did not say it with words. Lengauer did
an amazing thing, which should have been done from a long time ago. I
especially appreciate how even though he was not the one to personally take the
cells, he does take responsibility and wants to apologize on behalf of the
people that did take the cells so many years ago. This really showed that
researchers really do have hearts and are not as cold and calculating as they
seemed in previous chapters. Langauer was able to recognize that what the
researchers did so many years ago was terrible and I hope that many other
researchers have the same mindset as him. I am extremely glad that a researcher
finally had the courage and dignity to offer the Lack family the apology that
they deserved after all of these years.
Word Count: 227
Skloot, Rebecca. The
Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. New York: Broadway Paperbacks, 2010. 234.
Print.
