The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

After months of persuasion, Deborah finally agrees to meet Skloot in 2000. Skloot gives Deborah a gift from a Hopkins cancer researcher, Christoph Lengauer. As a tribute to Henrietta and her family, Lengauer has framed a large picture of Henrietta’s cells, painted with multicolored fluorescent dyes. Deborah is delighted with it.

They spend several days together, and Deborah opens up, pouring out all fears, anxieties and painful experiences. It is evident that, because no one has given the family clear information about HeLa and how it is used for research, the family cannot always separate factual knowledge from exaggerated stories they have heard. Deborah even worries that there might be clones of her mother walking around until Skloot reassures her that it is only the cells that scientists have cloned, not Henrietta herself.

Several days of intimate conversation between Skloot and Deborah come to an abrupt end when Skloot expresses an interest in seeing Henrietta’s medical records. Deborah panics and, despite Skloot’s reassurances that she has no bad intentions, Deborah shoots out the door.

The next day, Deborah returns. The upset of the previous day is forgotten, and she tells Skloot that her younger brother, Zakariyya, wants to meet her.