Embryonic Stem Cell Research -

Embryonic Stem Cell Research - Saving a Life by Destroying Another?

Embryonic stem cells are cells obtained from an embryo in the blastula phase when they are only a few days old and beginning to differentiate (the American Heritage New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy 2005). At this stage, these cells have the capability of developing into cell in the body, hence their importance to medicine. Embryonic stem cells are obtainable from either tiny four-to-seven-day-old human embryos or blastocysts at fertility clinics or specialized tissue from aborted fetuses (Krauthammer 2001). Extracting the stem cells from blastocysts will kill the embryo. At this development stage, an embryo consists only of 140 cells and has not attached itself to the uterus. The consensus is that, at this stage, it is a potential human being (Krauthammer). Obtaining these cells for any purpose will interfere with the natural development of a potential human being. Interfering with the natural development of stem cells will kill the developing person and is, therefore, ethically and morally wrong.

Body

Stem cells possess that remarkable capacity to reproduce themselves indefinitely. Advocates of stem cell research maintained that using these cells can produce heart, brain or other tissue but cannot produce a full human being. Hence, their use should not be viewed as the first step to cloning. The controversy over the use of stem cells from live embryos evolved from the 1998 paper by James Thomson on the success of his stem cell extraction and propagation technique. Thomson's paper described the capacity of these cells to produce every type of cell necessary to produce a human organism.

The dispute derives from the mechanics of stem cell research (Kukla 2002). Most cells in the human body are specialized but human stem cells are different. They can divide and generate specialized cells, such as blood or muscle cells. Some stem cells in an adult body undergo cell division, while some remain as stem cells, which are ready to divide again and form new specialized cells in response to daily wear-and-tear. These stem cells have that remarkable capability of indefinitely reproducing themselves to renew tissue throughout life. In a human embryo, these are single totiponent cells, which form when a sperm cell fertilizes an egg cell. A totipotent cell has the capability of forming an embryo. It can also form the tissues needed to support that embryo in the uterus and the tissues and organs needed to form an adult human being. A few days in the development of the embryo, stem cells begin to specialize, forming a hollow sphere, called a blastocyst. This contains an outer cell mass, which will form the placenta and an inner cell mass to become the tissues of the human body. Cells in the inner cell mass, referred to as pluripotent cells, do not have the ability to form the tissues to support the embryo but can develop into almost any cell type in the human body (Kukla). These particular cells in the inner cell mass are the focus of ongoing heated debate over the rightness or wrongness of the use of embryonic stem cells for research (Kukla).

In 1981, research work on stems cells used only animals, such as mice (Kulka 2002). But in 1998, two privately funded research groups at the University of Wisconsin and at the Johns Hopkins successfully isolated and derived human stem cells. Their success opened the possibility of generating tissue and cells for transplantation, improve understanding of genetic development and abnormalities, and to guide the way researchers develop and test drugs. In September 2001, researchers at the University of Wisconsin demonstrated the potentials of stem cell research by guiding human embryonic stem cells in turning into blood cells. Stem cell researchers said that this type of research was still in the preliminary stage and would take years to reap the benefits. Nonetheless, they believed that their discovery could help patients with blood disorders and serve as a continuing source for safe blood transfusions (Kulka).

Upon the request of the Bush administration, the Commission 131 and the National Institutes of Health or NIH reported in 1999 and 2001 on the particular medical and scientific benefits of stem cell research (Kukla 2002). These benefits included treating injuries or diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, heart disease, kidney disease, diabetes, traumatic spinal cord injury, Purkinje cell degeneration, Duchenne's muscular dystrophy, and osteogenesis imperfecta through cell transplant. The Commission and the NIH said that over a million Americans were afflicted with these conditions, which could be alleviated or cured through embryonic stem cell research. In February 2001, two researchers, Dr. Ronald McKay of NIH and Dr. Ole Isacson of Harvard Medical School, reported that they had cured Parkinson's disease in laboratory animals by using embryonic stem cells. In July of the same year, researchers in Israel reported having successfully producing insulin with human embryonic stem cells. Insulin is the treatment for diabetes. The NIH acknowledged the rising trends in embryonic stem cell research but also warned that only a few laboratories had access to human embryonic stem cells. This limitation posed a consequent limitation on human therapies. Nevertheless, the NIH said that even in its early stage, embryonic stem cell research already proved important in developing innovative cell replacement strategies in rebuilding tissues and restoring critical functions of diseased or damaged human body parts (Kulka). It offers huge possibilities of new and good tissue and organs to replace almost any failing part of the human body (Krauthammer 2001). It may not be a panacea, but it promises remarkable cures to otherwise still incurable diseases today (Krauthammer). It was also reported that adult and cord blood stem cells had cured and treated more than 70 diseases from umbilical cord blood and placenta of embryonic stem cells (Naughton 2005).

Meantime, other researchers found that, by fusing an embryonic stem cell with an adult skin cell, cells with the embryonic characteristics and the adult cell's genes could also be created (Brownie 2005). This new method was believed to solve the issue now confronting advocates of the research method, as it could develop stem cell lines, matching the patient's DNA without destroying human embryos. Korean scientists were credited with creating the first embryonic stem cells from clones made with human cells. They, however, used 100 human eggs and created early human embryos, which they destroyed in order to harvest their stem cells (Brownie). As a later development, Harvard Stem Cell Institute announced the conduct of its own privately funded study, using human embryonic stem cells (Christian Century 2006). Its objective was to produce treatments for a variety of diseases. It was later joined by Columbia University, which said that it was recruiting women from Boston to donate eggs for the project. The donations would be used to generate lines of embryonic stem cells, which are the master cells, which develop into other tissues of the human body. Times magazine reported that the Harvard-Columbia project would be the first program by academic institutions to use fresh eggs in somatic cell nuclear transfer, or SCNT, to create stem cells. By using private donations, the institutes would avoid President Bush's ban on the use of federal funds for the research. The religious and other pro-life conservatives had generally objected to the research's destruction of human embryos. The institutes utilized two affiliated hospitals and a fertility clinic in their project. They also said that it could take much longer before they could produce cures for sickle cell anemia, Alzheimer's disease and other conditions (Christian Century).

Embryonic stem cells have drawn much interest and controversy because of their capabilities, which have been more fully appreciated only in recent years. These cells not only produce any type of cell found in the body but are also attracted to areas of injury or disease (Klotter 2005). They, thus, hold huge potentials to treat many diseases and disorders. But there are also problems encountered in their use. These cells are difficult to control. They may also cause cancer when used in an environment, which does not have the natural inhibitors found in a naturally growing embryo. The raging dispute over the use of human embryos or fetal tissue in research also limits the conduct of research. This controversy led to the use of umbilical cord blood, which would neither be hazardous nor ethically objectionable. Human umbilical blood stem cells have proved to be useful in treating blood diseases, such as leukemia, macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, and cerebral palsy and brain damage in adults who have had recent stroke. The Food and Drug Administration approved its use in treating neurological diseases, disorders and injuries. Their use for other purposes approved by the FDA have, however, proved difficult to obtain / This has driven patients who wanted to obtain stem cell injections to approach research centers outside the U.S. where the treatment is considered legal (Klotter).

Religious groups and conservatives have argued that the destruction of living human cells in the embryo, no matter how early the stage, constitutes killing and is unethical and immoral. In avoiding the current controversy on the morality of embryonic stem cell research, researchers and doctors have resorted to other options (Dobson 2004, National Review 2004). Substitutes like adult stem cells and somatic cell nuclear transfer from placental or umbilical cord stem cells of newborns. Adult stem cells, however, were found to be nearly not as malleable as human embryonic stem cells or those acquired through somatic cell nuclear transfer. These were found good for reproducing red and white blood cells and platelets, but not for replacing neurons, muscle or organ tissue. On the other hand, somatic cell nuclear transfer from the placental or umbilical cord stem cells of newborns tended to be rejected by the body and developed immune reaction problems (Dobson).