Essay on Stem Cell Research: An Ethical Interpretation

These cells can grow into many things such as organs, tissues, muscles, or blood. These cells are able to renew themselves through cell division. One of the most unique aspects to these cells are they are able to replenish and repair themselves as long as the person is alive. This can be seen most commonly in red cells of the bone marrow. These cells are continuously repairing and replacing damaged and old cells. Because of stem cells unique ability to renew themselves into new cells, scientist have shown great interest in these cells. Stem cells that are being studied most by scientist are embryotic stem cells, adult stem cells, and induced pluripotent stem

One of the most controversial topics these days is Stem Cell Research. There seems to be a split opinion among societies about the research and whether it is socially and morally acceptable. As a society, we need to open our minds to the possibility of broadening our scientific horizons with stem cell research, and take the time to learn and understand whatever we can about it.

What does this mean for the future of medicine? Researchers believe that these differentiated cells can replace skin cells for burn victims, create new organs, or regenerate heart or brain tissue. Research in using stem cells is needed because of the risk of rejection of the new cells. Rejection is when the body is not able to recognize the new cells from the donor cells and attacks them.

For starters, a stem cell is an undifferentiated cell that is capable of regenerating itself or becoming induced into a specific tissue or organ for specialized functions under certain physiological functions. All stem cells have the following three things in common: they are capable of renewing and dividing themselves over an extended period of time, they are not specialized, and they are able to give rise

Adult stem cells are thought to be undifferentiated cells. According to the NIH, the main goal of adult stem cells is to repair and renew cells and tissue in the body (Stem Cell Basics). Compared to embryonic stem cells, adult stem cells origin is undetermined. However, scientists are excited over the recent discoveries emerging from research. Researchers have found adult stem cells are in the brain and heart where they believed stem cells would not exist. These findings can continue to help scientists develop research in which adult stem cells could become the basis of transplantation-based therapies (Zawada and Kalumuck). If scientists are able to control these cells in laboratories, they could develop transplant stem cells that could even rejuvenate a heart. If the heart is rejuvenated it could circumnavigate a heart transplant (Zawada and Kalumuck). Other examples of conditions that could be cured with rejuvenation are Diabetes, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, strokes, burns, spinal injuries, and more (Stem Cell

What are stem cells? Stem cells are immature cells that have the potential to become specialized as a different cell throughout the body. In simpler terms stem cells are cells that can become another cell and help a damaged part of the body. There are 2 different types of stem cells adult stem cells and embryonic stem cells. Adult stem cells are found in adults, children, infants, and umbilical cords. Obtaining adult stem cells from these sources does no harm to them. Embryonic stem cells are different from adult stem cells by how they are obtained. Embryonic stem cells are obtained through miscarried or still-born fetuses. Many people are against embryonic stem cells because of the religious and ethical aspect. But in clinical trials stem cell research has proven to be beneficial. Stem cell research is the studying of stem

“Through the isolation and manipulation of cells, scientists are finding ways to identify young, regenerating ones that can be used to replace damaged of dead cells in diseased organs. This therapy is similar to the process of organ transplant, only the treatment consists of the transplantation of cells rather than organs. The cells that have shown by far the most promise of supplying diseased organs with healthy cells are called stem cells.” (Chapter Preface)

As with all fields of science, stem cells have, and are still, been the subject of multiple court cases, some of which conclude with the defendant 's case winning. For example in the Moore v. Regents of University of California et al, the plaintiff accused the Regents of University of California, specifically Dr. Golde, of using his cells for lucrative medical research without his permission (Moore v. The Regents of The University of California et al., 1990). This case doesn’t specifically address stem cells, but it opened the door to how much ownership a patient really has over his cells once they have been removed. It affected the position that donors of stem cells, embryos and adults, have in these types of controversial cases, and thus had a negative impact on the ethics of stem cells.

It is easy to collect, more likely to provide a perfect match for the user, and is stored frozen ready for use. It is basically far easier and more accessible for use rather than adult or embryonic stem cells.

In many cases of stem cell research, majority of ethical issues argue that the research and genetic modifications are morally wrong. Pang and Ho (2016) explain that techniques for generating designer babies, such as Mitochondria DNA replacement therapy and genetic engineering, have been used to prevent inheriting genetic defects through the selection of “disease genes” embryos by preimplantation diagnosis (p. 59) . These scientific modifications seem to be the gate way to prevent hereditary diseases being passed to future generations. As “life-saving” as these modifications might seem, they have a number a hidden risk factors. Experimental risk factors may come into consideration if the efficiency of the procedure is not adequately met. Because

In the past, stem cells transplants have been used in the treatment of genetic disorders such as leukemia and lymphoma. When this treatment is adopted, in this case the transplanted bone marrow is used to repair the ailing bone marrow. In such a situation, the bone marrow is asked to perform a different task, which is to repair another organ, which scientifically is an anatomical mismatch. Despite these setbacks, scientists continued to undertake research in this study and found out that stem cells can be used to cure diseases that in the past were termed as

Stem cell treatments for disorders involving the blood and the immune system as well as bone marrow transplants have already been proven to be safe and effective. Bone marrow transplants use adult stem cells and can treat leukemia, lymphoma, multiple myeloma, sickle cell anemia, and other blood disorders. Patients are given chemotherapy to kill the cancer cells, and then a bone marrow transplant is enacted to put healthy cells back into the patient. Each year over 50,000 bone marrow transplants worldwide are used to effectively treat patients. All of these people might die without this treatment. Thus, stem cell treatment has been saving live since the first bone marrow transplant. In addition, further research may lead to the development of numerous other safe and effective treatments to a variety of disorders. ALS, Alzheimer’s, joint diseases caused by cartilage damage, diabetes, heart disease, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, and tissue and organ damage are some of the things that stem cell research is working on developing treatments for. Also, there are already clinical trials using stem cells to treat age-related blindness and spinal cord injuries. Therefore, stem cells have significantly impacted society due to

Stem cell research is a highly controversial topic that may hold the key to developing a cure for many cancers and diseases. In 1998, a group of scientists developed a technique to isolate and grow stem cells. The field is extremely new when compared with other fields. A few things need to be discussed before an argument can be made for or against stem cell research, the types of stem cells, the potential uses, and where funding should come from. There are many different types of stem cells and each one has a different role in promoting breakthroughs in the many diseases that can possibly be cured.

As scientific research broadens its scope to accommodate new technology and theories, controversial issues are debated and inspected, all in hopes of finding answers to long awaited scientific questions. Though science has come across many ethical road blocks set forth by the government, lawyers, and even the community it has continued to move forward in the hopes of encountering creative, constructive, and confounding new ways of creating cures for problems seen by many. Bioethics, as defined by Merriam Websters, is “the discipline dealing with the ethical implications of biological research and applications especially in medicine” (“Bioethics”). Bioethics can be found in almost every form of research, two of which will be focused on in this research paper, the question of when science begins to overstep it’s boundaries and what can be considered ‘acceptable’ from a scientific standpoint will discussed in reference to stem cell research and genetic testing on animals and humans.

There is significant difference between adult stem cells and embryonic stem cells. Adult stem cells only generate the cell types of the tissue in which they reside. Scientists have found stem cells in many more tissues in the recent years than they ever thought possible. Stem cells from bone marrow have been used for transplants for over 40 years, but researchers have now found that stem cells also exist in the brain and heart. Adult stem cells are rare in mature tissues, so isolating these cells from adult tissues can be challenging. They are also currently believed to be less likely to initiate rejection after transplantation than embryonic stem cells. This is because the patient’s own stem cells and tissues are being reintroduced into the patient, therefore they are less like to be rejected by the immune system (Top 10). On the other hand, embryonic stem cells are mostly derived from embryos that have been fertilized in vitro and are then donated to research with the consent of the donor. These stem cells can become all cell