Introduction
The use of stem cells is slowly becoming more acceptable in the world today as scientific and biological advances regarding the undifferentiated cells, which have the potential to give rise to other kinds of cells by differentiation, are proving to be useful in instances in which they can be used to treat diseases such as leukemia.
Leukemia is a form of a cancer, a disease that causes the bone marrow and other blood-forming organs to become unable to produce normal white blood cells that are essential for protecting the body against disease, but rather promote an increase in the production of immature and abnormal white blood cells. Thus the production of normal blood cells is inhibited. A disease of this effect can be treated through stem cell therapies.
Though stem cell use is being accepted by a wider variety of people due to its beneficial uses, there is still and will most likely always be those who have ethical issues with the source of the stem cells and therefore do not condone the use of stem cell therapy to treat leukemia.
There is a great deal of controversy when the stem cells are extracted from human embryos as there is great debate over whether or not the embryo is considered to be living. However, alternative sources of stem cells are available and are being discovered.
Despite the ethical questionability of the use of stem cells, it should be acceptable to use stem cells for medical and therapeutic treatments which will help fight a disease that many lives are being lost to, especially if alternative sources of stem cells can be used and the controversy can be avoided.
Review of Literature
Source A (Secondary Source, Online Article)
M. D. Stoppler. (2014). What are some stem cell thera...
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...r to decide whether or not it is acceptable to use stem cells to treat leukemia, the sources of stem cells are considered and the process of the stem cell therapy that is used is evaluated. The research question can be met by arguments about the sources of the stem cells in response, which can be a sensitive topic. Due to this, research on alternative sources of stem cells was also done. The research was done objectively, ensuring that all aspects of the question were looked into in order for an in-depth analysis to be completed which allows for an unwavering conclusion to be formulated.
Assembling Results
All aspects of the question are considered, making the research just and precise. The assemblage of results is present in the research task and all authors who provide insight into the topic are acknowledged within both the literature review and the appendix.
Are stem cells ethical to use in medical research? The most basic cells in the human body are stem cells. Because doctors use stem cells for medical treatment of chronic ailments, stem cells play an important role in human medical research. However, despite the benefits of stem cells in medical treatment, controversy surrounds the methods employed to obtain them. Should researchers continue to use stem cells?
“The vast potential of human embryonic stem cells does not come without a cost: a human embryo.” (Introduction)
Stem cells are pluripotent cells of the body which are “undifferentiated.” This means that stem cells can ultimately give rise to any type of body tissue. Thus stem cells have the potential to cure a vast number of diseases and physical ailments including Parkinson’s, diabetes, spinal cord injury, and heart disease. Consequently, stem cell research and the development of associated medical applications are of great interest to the scientific and medical community. The area of stem cell research involving human embryonic stem cells is of particular interest in that embryonic stem cells are derived from week-old blastocysts developed from in vitro fertilized eggs. As opposed to adult stem cells, which must undergo a complicated process of de-differen...
Stem cell research began in 1956 when Dr. E Donnall Thomas performed the first bone marrow transplant (“Adult stem cells are not more promising,” 2007). Since that time, research has evolved into obtaining cells from a variety of tissues. According to stem cell research professors, Ariff Bongso and Eng Hin Lee (2005), “Stem cells are unspecialized cells in the human body that are capable of becoming cells, each with new specialized functions” (p. 2). Stem cells are in various adult tissues, such as bone marrow, the liver, the epidermis layer of skin, the central nervous system, and eyes. They are also in other sources, such as fetuses, umbilical cords, placentas, embryos, and induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), which are cells from adult tissues that have been reprogrammed to pluripotency. Most stem cells offer multipotent cells, which are sparse...
Stem cells are undifferentiated cells that can differentiate themselves into specific cell type. There are two types of stem cells. The first one is the adult's stem cell. These stem cells can be found in various places in an adult human body, like the brain, the bone marrow or the liver. The other type of stem cells is the embryonic stem cells. These cells are found in embryos before its implantation in the mother's uterus. At this stage the embryo is divided in two types of cell. The first one is the outer cluster of cell that forms the embryo that will become part of the placenta once the embryo hatch. And the inner cluster is the source of embryonic stem cell since it consists of undifferentiated cell that will divide and differentiate to form all the organs and tissue needed in an adult organism. As stem cell are undifferentiated cell they can become whatever cell type is needed in an organism and could be the solution to diseases that are, at this date, incurable. (Medical News Today, 2013). Most of the ethic's problem of the stem cells researches come from the embryonic stem cell researches and how the cells are collected. Embryonic stem cells can be obtained in several ways. The first one is after a couple's fertility treatment, there might be some embryos left and the couple can decide to donate their embryos to research. The second option is to collect stem cells from a foetus after an abortion. And the last possibility is to use therapeutic cloning. Using an ovum from witch the nucleus was taken off and the nucleus of a somatic cell, the origin of this cell in the body doesn't matter, it can come from the skin for example, it is possible to create an embryo and get the stem cell from the created embryo. But in all of...
This report does a fairly comprehensive job on educating the public to the definition of stem cells, describing them as “a diverse group of remarkable multipotent cells that are relatively undifferentiated and unspecialized cells of the body.” Stem cells have the capacity for unlimited self-renewal and the possibility to produce differentiated descendant cell types. The main in...
Embryonic stem cells are derived from a four or five day old human embryo that is in the blastocyst phase of development (see figure 5). The embryo’s that are used for stem cell research, are extra’s that have been created in IVF clinics (in vitro fertilization), that are no longer needed. Embryonic stem cells are totipotent (cells with the potential to develop into any cells in the body). Scientists have discovered an alternative to embryonic stem cells, these cells ...
Have you ever seen a movie or read a book where they can tell what your child will look like or if they have a disease or birth defect. Or have you ever wondered how the world would be shaped if we could have clones or even erase genetic diseases. All of these things are theoretically possible with stem cell research. If we are able to reach this point what would we have to sacrifice in the process. To understand humanity would we have to sacrifice the values that truly make us human? What would the fail rate be if we are able to genetically enhance the human body?
What if there was a cure for cancer or a treatment for spinal injuries? Would you support the research? What if there was a way that you could repair damaged nerves. Some believe that stem cells may hold the answers to some of these questions. What are stem cells and why should you or I even care about them? Some believe that they are a miracle treatment waiting to happen while others believe that stem cells are highly immoral. Why does so much controversy surround the issue? Why is the conversation of stem cells feared by some and praised by others? To some stem cells are the medical hopes for the future, something for us to hang on to as we do battle with major diseases that include cancer, Parkston’s disease and spinal injuries. To others stem cell researchers are murderers who are trying to play God’s hand. A many have pledged their support to stem cell research including a few well known celebrities. Reeves’, who was best known for his role in the early Superman movies, and J. Fox two well-known celebrities, have pledged to stem cell research, both have created a private fund for the research of stem cells. This celebrity however has not swayed everyone to support stem cell researches cause. Just as there are supporters of stem cells there are those who believe that the use of stem cells is immoral. Since the first stem cells were separated there have been doctors, religious groups and even some political figure head have shown their opposition for stem cell research. Even with the knowledge and promise that stem cells show many of those who truly oppose stem cells have not changed their mind. The question is are their reasons good enough to halt the research of stem cell or are they just holding back what will soon be inevi...
This report aims to investigate the different views held on the pros and cons of development in stem cell research. This report will provide background to the debate, its social significance, parties that are involved and analysis of the arguments related to the topic researched.
Could you imagine being able to create new organs, tissues, muscles, and even food? With embryonic stem cell technology, believe it or not, these things are possible. Stem cells are the body's raw materials. Specifically, they are cells from which all other cells with specialized functions are generated. Under the right conditions in the body or in a laboratory, stem cells can divide to form more cells called daughter cells. These daughter cells either become new stem cells or turn into specialized cells with a more specific function, such as blood cells, brain cells, muscle cells or bone cells. The possibilities are almost endless. The debate and main issue with this technology is that the actual stem cells come from embryos. Embryos are an unborn or unhatched offspring in the process of development. Although there is controversy surrounding these cells, embryonic stem cells should continue to be researched and used, because they have so much potential.
Stem cells offer exciting promise for future therapies, but significant technical hurdles remain that will only be overcome through years of intensive research. Stem Cells have the incredible potential to develop into many different cell types in the body during early life and growth. Scientists primarily work with two kinds of stem cells from animals and humans. The embryonic stem cells and the non-embryonic stem cells. Stem cells are the cells from which all other cells originate. In a human embryo, a large portion of the embryo’s cells are stem cells. These stem cells can be used for cell-based therapies. Cell-Based therapies are treatments in which stem cells are induced to differentiate into the specific cell type required to repair damaged or destroyed cells or tissues. Stem cells are versatile and offer the possibility to treat a number of diseases including Alzheimer’s, stroke, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, etc. The problem is that for the process of embryonic stem cell research and embryo will be destroyed if used. This raises a moral issue and questions of whether stem cell research is unethical or not.
Leukemia is a cancer of the white blood cells. It begins in the bone marrow, the soft tissue inside the bones. Within the bone marrow is where white blood cells are created, that help fight off bacteria, viruses, and other microorganisms within the body that cause infections. The disease develops to when the white blood cells are being produced out of control. The cells that are being produced do not work properly as they should, they grow faster than a normal cell would and don’t know when to stop growing. Overtime, if not treated properly, the white blood cells will over crowd blood cells, creating a serious problem such as anemia, bleeding and infection. Leukemia cells can spread to the lymph nodes and other organs in the body causing swelling and pain.
The emphasis on health and fitness has become paramount in our society today in an effort to prevent and combat diseases such as Cancers. Cancers are a group of over 100 diseases that affects every aspect of the human system from skin, to bones, to muscles, to blood. One of the most common blood disorders is Leukemia. As defined by the U.S. National Library of Medicine, Leukemia is a type of blood cancer that begins in the bone marrow. The bone marrow is the soft tissue in the center of the bone that is responsible for the production of blood cells. The term leukemia means white blood. The term leukocytes refer to white blood cells, which are body’s defense against infections and other foreign substances. When Leukemia occurs there is an uncontrolled increase in the number of white blood cells. When this occurs, these cancerous cells inhibit the production of healthy red blood cells, platelets, and mature white blood cells. Over time the cancerous cells can spread to the bloodstream and lymph nodes. They can also travel to the Central Nervous System and the rest of the body.
...there are some risk factors in using stem cell for therapeutic approaches, hematopoietic stem cell therapy by bone marrow transplantation has already been proofed to be safe if donors’ background and screening, cell contamination, HLA matching and opportunistic or nosocomial infections during immunocompromised period were carefully monitored and controlled. Still, other types of stem cell therapies, despite of their good therapeutic efficacy, are remain in experimental stage and need more data to support and demonstrate the safety in clinical trials. More understanding of stem cell biology is also required in order to keep stem cell under controlled and avoid some complications that they might cause. So, to pave the way for successful stem cell therapy, research in this extent is needed to pursue to maximized therapeutic efficiency with highest safety in patients.