Dr. George Otto Gey of John Hopkins University first discovered HeLa cells. These cells were taken from a sample of cancerous tissue found in the cervix of Henrietta Lacks. It was expected that the cells would multiply a few times and then die like most samples. However, in the lab, the HeLa cells remained alive and multiplied at an astonishing rate. Dr. Gey informed colleagues that his lab had grown the first immortal cell line.