Stem Cell Research- Pros and Cons

Stem cells are special cells that can turn into many different cell types in the body such as heart muscle cells, brain cells, and skin cells.

There are two kinds of stem cells:

• Adult Stem Cells - a supply of stem cells that can multiply when needed to repair adult organs and tissue. Adult stem cells are found in the human body and in umbilical cord blood. The most well known source of adult stem cells in the body is bone marrow but they are also found in many organs and tissues; even in the blood. Adult stem cells are more specialized since they are assigned to a specific cell family such as blood cells, nerve cells, etc.
• Embryonic Stem Cells - cells found early (less than 2 wks.) in the development of an embryo that can progenerate a developing fetus and ultimately a human baby. Embryonic stem cells are the most versatile because they can become any cell in the body including fetal stem cells and adult stem cells.

Stem Cell Research: The history of stem cell research had a benign, embryonic beginning in the mid 1800's with the discovery that some cells could generate other cells. Now stem cell research is embroiled in a controversy over the use of human embryonic stem cells for research. The history of stem cell research includes work with both animal and human stem cells. Stem cell research is used for investigation of basic cells which develop organisms. The cells are grown in laboratories. The tests are carried out to investigate fundamental properties of the cells. Currently, intense research is closing in on getting another way to research on the topic. The stem cell-research is an example of the, sometimes hard, cost-benefit analysis ethics scientists need to do.

Method of Research: The traditional source for getting human stem cells is ethically and morally problematic: An embryo, just days after conception, or a fetus between the 5th and 9th week, is removed from a pregnant female which is having an abortion.

Sources of Stem Cells for research work:

• Embryonic: cells found early (less than 2 wks.) in the development of an embryo that can progenerate a developing fetus and ultimately a human baby. Embryonic stem cells are the most versatile because they can become any cell in the body including fetal stem cells and adult stem cells. Because they have the potential to become any cell in the human body, embryonic stem cells are commonly considered to hold the most promise for treating disease and replacing tissue and cells.   

• Certain Adult Tissues: Adult stem cells can be extracted either from bone marrow or from the peripheral system. Bone marrow is a rich source of stem cells. However, some painful destruction of the bone marrow results from this procedure.
• Umbilical Cord Blood: Stem cells taken from the umbilical cord are a second very rich source of stem cells. Umbilical cells can also offer a perfect match where a family has planned ahead. Cord cells are extracted during pregnancy and stored in cryogenic cell banks as a type of insurance policy for future use on behalf of the newborn. Cord cells can also be used by the mother, the father or others.

Research being undertaken by members of the Stem Cell Network will help in understanding the differences between stem cell types and assist in identifying those that offer the most potential for development of therapies.

There are two main issues concerning stem cell research with both pros and cons:

1. How the knowledge will be used
2. Concerns about the methods

Pros of Stem Cell Research:

• The benefits of stem cell research have such a great outcome, that it outweighs the ethical issues. (Cost-benefit-analysis)
• If someone is going to have an abortion, isn't it better that we use it for something useful?
• Adult stem cells would not be that interesting because they do not have the same properties as stem cells from a fetus.
• Another often mentioned advantage is that this research would give great insights about the basics of the body.

Cons of Stem Cell Research:

• Critics against stem cell research, argue that there are ethical issues do not justify the benefits.
• A life is a life and that should never be compromised. A fertilized egg should be valued as a human life even if it is in its very first weeks. Destroying human life in the hopes of saving human life is not ethical.
• We should (and will) develop more ethical methods (such as using adult stem cells) which will enable us to research ethically. We should wait to those methods are available.
• The scientific value has been overstated or has flaws. E.g. we do not know for sure that we can use stem cells to clone organs to be transplanted to oneself.

Benefits of Stem Cell Research in curing diseases: Stem cell research can potentially help treating a range of medical problems. It could lead us closer to cure:

• Parkinson's Disease
• Alzheimer's Disease
• Heart Diseases, Stroke and Diabetes (Type 1)
• Birth Defects
• Spinal Cord Injuries
• Replace or Repair Damaged Organs
• Reduced Risk of Transplantation (You could possibly get a copy of your own heart in a heart-transplantation in the future)

The stem cell-research is an example of the, sometimes hard, cost-benefit analysis ethics scientists needs to do. Stem Cell pros and cons must be valued carefully. When planning to investigate a phenomenon, you cannot defend a study ethically if the cost is higher than the benefits. The analysis needs to include human/animal discomfort, environmental issues, material costs/benefits and economy.

(Sources: vescell.com, allaboutpopularissues.org, experiment-resources.com,