Issues of Stem Cell, Research Paper Example

The contemporary medicine is intensely possessed by the research aimed to use stem cells for treatment of extremely complicated, terminal diseases such as diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease of cardiovascular disease. There has been found the way even to treat cancer with the help of stem cells. However, the research in this sphere is only at the beginning stage due to certain complications from the point of view of funding, modern equipment and ethic considerations that slow it down considerably. There are several types of stem cells that possess the potential of usage in suchlike research: they are embryonic stem cells, adult stem cells and cord blood stem cells (What are Stem Cells?). They possess various features as for their potency and have to be treated in a different way due to this factor.

The subject of stem cells potency is the decisive factor when applied to stem cell research because it defines which stem cells have the highest potential for usage in medicine. The term ‘potency’ refers to the ability of stem cells to develop different kinds of cells present in the human body, the number of which equals nearly 220 (What are Stem Cells?).

“Totipotent stem cells arise from the fusion of egg and sperm cell and are remarkable because they can differentiate into any cell type. Pluripotent stem cells are close descendents of totipotent stem cells. They have wide differentiation powers, but are limited to cell types of the 3 germ layers (ectoderm, endoderm, mesoderm)” (What are Stem Cells?)

These types of potency are inherent in the stem cells of an embryo and depend on the stage of its development. Thus, an embryo that has been just formed and has not gone through initial significant stages of development during which the cells are already differentiated in their responsibilities for the formation of certain types of tissues has totipotent stem cells. As soon as the embryo has started the formation of certain tissues and the stem cells have already become specialized, they become only pluripotent, but still they possess some variability and can aid in treatment of various diseases enormously.

The last type of stem cells is unipotent – “Unipotent stem cells can only differentiate into 1 cell type, but they retain the capacity for self-renewal which distinguishes them from non-stem cells” (What are Stem Cells?). They have the lowest potential from the point of view of their application in medicine, but still they possess the potential for self-division, as it comes from the quotation, which means that they still can be used, though with a much narrower range of application.

The first type of stem cells that causes intense debates concerning the propriety of their usage is the one of embryonic stem cells. These stem cells can be taken from the embryo at the starting stage of its development and possess the greatest potency as for their usage for building cells of various types for the human body. Thus, they are either totipotent or multipotent. For this reason they have become such a desirable acquisition for research to find their further application in medicine. However, the debate over the propriety of their extraction from the embryo is also gaining force – it is necessary to remember that in the course of extraction the embryo inevitably dies, giving the boundless power for doctors to save other people’s lives. As a result of such controversy, a two-fold vision of the situation has been created – the decision on whether death of the embryo is considered a murder or not depends on whether it can be considered a human being.

There are many proponents of the pro-life approach to deciding on the application of embryo stem cells in medicine who state that the main factor speaking for the embryo representing the human life is that it contains the human DNA, thus being human. Hence, they insist that killing the embryo for the sake of extracting stem cells is the first degree murder. However, those who refuse to accept the life in an embryo state that such practices are normal and ethically correct, thus accepting the practice and encouraging its further application (Robinson).

The stem cell research is an innovative medical sphere, and even those who do not do it understand that embryo stem cells possess the highest potential in the development of treatment from incurable diseases due to their totipotent and multipotent qualities, taking apart the fatal consequences for the embryo. However, adult stem cells also possess the potential for self-reproduction, though they are highly specified and possess a limited potential for application. Taking this into account, it is possible to agree on the fact that only adult cells and induced pluripotent stem cells (the type of cells that can be extracted without any harm for the donor and sometimes can act as stem cells with many functions) have the highest potential for development in the case when avoiding all ethical debates is chosen as an approach to the subject.

What is also needed to be understood regarding stem cells is the range of obstacles that exists on the way of successful implementation of embryonic stem cells for curing the dreadful diseases from which humankind suffers nowadays. The main drawbacks of the real state of affairs with the stem cell research application in real medicine are as follows:

• To make stem cells differentiate into the specific type;
• To make stem cells produce the needed number of cells;
• To let the recipient survive after the operation;
• To achieve the natural integration of the new tissue into the surrounding old tissue;
• To make cells generated with the help of stem cells function appropriately after the transplantation;
• To avoid any threats for the patient (The National Institutes of Health 17).

As a conclusion it is possible to say that stem cell research offers a great number of opportunities for humanity in studies in diverse areas. Thus, for example, examining stem cells and revealing the complex processes that take place in the organism of the embryo in the process of formation will open the nearly mystical information about how the genes are applied in different combination to produce differentiated cells from the undifferentiated ones, how various organs and tissues are formed making a healthy and complete human being. Looking at the implications of human formation from another side, stem cell research will give a better understanding of the origin of diverse abnormalities that occur in the process of development leading to cancer and other defects (The National Institutes of Health 14).

Another essential application of stem cell research can be found in testing medicines. Since there is much debate and disapproval about testing different medications on people or animals, growth of differentiated stem cells that will correspond to a set of requirements needed for testing will considerably simplify the process of testing and will give much more accurate results (The National Institutes of Health 14).

And, surely, the most important target that is pursued by researchers in the field of stem cells application is to create the basis for cell-based therapy – kind of treatment that will be based on the donation of organs and tissues. The main challenge in this aspect is to find efficient ways to direct the differentiation of cells and to stop it as soon as their function has been accomplished (The National Institutes of Health 15).

Works Cited

Robinson, Bruce. ‘Stem cell research: All viewpoints’. Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance. 1997. 10 Feb 2010. <http://www.religioustolerance.org/ res_stem.htm>

The National Institutes of Health. Stem Cell Basics. 2009. 10 Feb 2010. <http://stemcells.nih. gov/staticresources/info/basics/SCprimer2009.pdf>

What are stem cells? 2009. 10 Feb 2010. <http://www.stemcellscience.org/>