Potential Life Savers

Just about everyone in the world today knows either a loved one or a friend that is dying of a fatal disease or a terminal illness. Every day people are dying of incurable diseases due to the lack of knowledge or the lack of treatment for their disease. Imagine if there was a cure or an answer to save your loved ones or friends life, wouldn’t you want to give them a second chance at living life? In the recent scientific world there has been research done on stem cells. Stem cells are specially grown cells in order to help diseased patients grow better tissue in hopes of their survival and recovery. These cells can be derived though many different procedures. Extracting stem cells from a fetal embryo has proved to be the easiest and most efficient way of researching the ability of stem cells. The problem with this technique is that stem cells, derived from a human fetal embryo, destroys it from the lack of cells for the growing fetus. Although there are other resources for obtaining these stem cells through bone marrow and blood from adults it is hard to research these new techniques under the bans that President Bush has put upon the study. Thus the controversial issue stems, which is better, extending our knowledge of certain human processes and diseases or saving the fetal embryos from being damaged without repair.

In an article, “The Ethics of Stem Cell Research, ” A stem cell can be described as, “Undifferentiated, primitive cells with the ability both to multiply and to differentiate into specific kinds of cells.” Meaning that researchers can procreate specialized cells of tissues thus giving a patient a chance to regenerate a fully functioning organ in place of a failing one without the cost, time, and struggle of a transplant. Research shows that,

2

“Stem cells obtained from 5-day old human embryos can morph into all kinds of human tissues and appear capable of regenerating ailing organs. But while newer and safer versions of the cells have recently been created, the policy imposed by Bush in August 2001 puts those cells off-limits ” (Weiss Stem Cell Strides Test Bush Policy). Bans on the research has blunted the amount of knowledge we can grasp from the use of stem cells. Yet if scientists would be able to receive federal funding then social and ethical issues could be monitored. The practices in which researchers are using in order to obtain new information would have to be consistent with the moral values and legal requirements of Americans.

Recently there have been significant advances in the world of stem cell research through lab testing. In the beginning days of research, stem cells were obtained from aborted embryos. Even though receiving the cells from embryos is more efficient, controversy through the ideas of obtaining the stem cells has occurred. Some arguments have supported the idea saying that the fetuses are no longer living anyways; why not donate them to scientific research. In order to relieve the controversy of using aborted fetuses there have been new studies done on adult stem cells through lab testing on mouse embryos. In an article, “Adult Stem Cell Study Promising,” scientists proved that the mice injected with stem cells, “specialized to fit in with the tissues where they appeared, a list that includes the brain, retina, lung, heart, muscle, liver, intestine, kidney, spleen, marrow, and skin.” This concludes that stem cells can be used to treat if not cure illnesses involving the organs affected by diseases. Also there has been research done on an infected mouse where stem cells were injected into their blood stream. The donor cells then became part of the mouse’s blood and marrow. The cells created healthier cells within the mousse’s blood stream and were able to put up a fight against the infected cells

3

of the mouse. This type of stem cell information can help aid in the research of