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Stem Cell
The recent discovery of stem cell usefulness in helping cure persistent disease and medical problems presents an interesting dilemma for society and those interested in exploring this technology. Before rushing into using this tool, it is my opinion that the defining terms of this topic should be fully understood. The difference between adult stem cell and embryonic stem cell applications are differing along with the moral and ethical implications that accompany these terms. In order to truly understand this problem this distinction needs to be addressed before answering the question of its value in general terms.
Understanding the differences between these two parts of the discussion has led me to take a stance against using embryonic stem cells for research purposes. The use of adult stem cells and the full range of applications that this more humane and kindly approach utilizes seems to best suit the human situation in today's complicated ethical landscape that leaves the aspiring learner confused and curious.
DEFINING THE TERMS
According to the Mayo Clinic (n.d), stem cells offer great promise for new medical treatments and are defined by this institution as "cells from which all other cells with specialized functions are generated." This fountain of life discovery has the scientific community very excited about all the possible ways that this technology can be utilized. Currently, there are two sources of stem cells, embryonic stem cells and adult stem cells. Adult stem cells are found in adult bodies including bone marrow and other tissues. These stem cells are found in people of all ages and are often referred to as somatic cells. The evidence around adult stem cells is growing as new applications and health contributions are currently being added all the time.
The more controversial embryonic stem cells are derived from a different source than the adult cells. After a fertilized egg is developed into an embryo of less than a week or so it may be harvested for certain types of cells that...
The abortion debate is a very close relative of the stem cell debate as the source and timing of the beginning of life is in question.
THE NEED FOR STEM CELL RESEARCH
Perry's (2000) called for the immediate need for this type of research in the following table:
Table 1. Persons in the United States affected by diseases that may be helped by human pluripotent stem cell research. Data are from the Patients"
Coalition for Urgent Research, Washington, DC.
Condition Number of persons affected
Cardiovascular diseases 58 million
Autoimmune diseases 30 million
Diabetes 16 million
Osteoporosis 10 million
Cancer 8.2 million
Alzheimer's disease 4 million
Parkinson's disease 1.5 million
Burns (severe) 0.3 million
Spinal cord injuries 0.25 million
Birth defects 150,000 (per year)
Total 128.4 million
It is true that the United States and the rest of the world is suffering from many types of diseases that stem cells can help cure and therefore giving ample cause for this debate and providing the context in which it should be debated.
HOW THE STEM CELL IS USED TO FIGHT DISEASE
The National Institutes of Health (n.d.) stem cell information distinguishes between embryonic and adult stem cells. The main difference in these two types of cells is the ability of the embryos type to produce many more stem cells that can become regenerative in nature and used for healing purposes. Adult stem cells are harder to manage and require more human maintenance. This technique of extraction presents unique challenges and methods that are labor-intensive and expensive making the somatic stem cell type of research more dependent on funding and other types of resources. Is unknown at this time whether or not the success rate of regenerating cells are any different, but we do know that the adult stem cells are harder to extract and grow into a healing property.
Either form of these stem cells can be developed and used to fight diseases in many different ways. Pardal et. al (2003) presented a very simple and explicit comparison of how stem cells…
Bibliography
Mayo Clinic Staff (n.d). Stem cells: What they are and what they do. Mayo Clinic Health Information. Retrived from http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/stem-cells/CA00081.
Pardal, S. et al. (2003). Applying the principles of sten-cell biology to cancer. Nature, 3. Retrieved from http://web.mit.edu/7.31/restricted/pdfs/F05_and_earlier/morrison.pdf
Mclaren, A. (2001). Ethical and social considerations of stem cell research. Nature, 41. Retrieved from http://www.coloradodjlabs.org/research/antiintellectualism/2001StemCell/McLaren- EthicalAndSocialDimensions-Nature.pdf
National Institutes of Health (n.d.). Stem cell Information. The National Institutes of Health Resource for Stem Cell Research. Retrieved from http://stemcells.nih.gov/info/basics/basics5.asp
Perry, D. (2000). Patients voices; the powerful sound in the stem cell debate. Sciencemag.org Science, 287. Retrieved from http://www.cas.muohio.edu/~yarrisjm/3patients%27voices.pdf
Analysis of the Issues: The ethical concern for the rights and welfare of viable infants is certainly a legitimate concern, but the central ethical analysis that pertains to stem cell research revolves around the issue of defining human life appropriately. Objective criteria like anatomical development, cognitive awareness, and above all, sentience of any degree and in any form are all legitimate bases for the definition of life and for identifying
A pre-embryo is the fertilized cell that has not yet been planted into the human host. Once the pre-embryo is implanted into the female host, it is assumed that it will grow and develop into a human being. The pre-embryo is not the same as the embryo, it is simply the raw material. A national bioethics committee has been assigned the duty of exploring these issues and making recommendations that
Stem cells are cells that can develop into other forms of cells; Evans's cells could develop into entire mice. Evans eventually began altering the genetic material in the stem cells, creating mice that had genetic material from other creatures and could pass that material on to their offspring" (313). These findings, together with the research conducted separately by Capecchi and Smithies, enabled several teams of researchers to develop knockout
In utilitarianism, the focus is on outcomes, or the ends of an action; in deontology the actions themselves must be ethical and moral, or the outcome is moot. Deontology argues that there are norms and truths that are universal for all humans; actions then have a predisposition to right or wrong, moral or immoral. Kant believed that humans should act, at all times, as if their individual actions would
S. Law." Stem Cells at the National Academies. 2008. March 27, 2008. http://dels.nas.edu/bls/stemcells/ethics.shtml Thomson, James a., et al. "Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell Lines Derived from Human Somatic Cells." Science Express. Vol. 318. no. 5858, pp. 1917-1920: November 20, 2007. Yamanaka, Shinya, et al. "Induction of Pluripotent Stem Cells from Adult Human Fibroblasts by Defined Factors." Cell. 131: 1-12.. November 30, 2007. March 27, 2008. http://images.cell.com/images/Edimages/Cell/IEPs/3661.pdf What are the potential uses of human stem
Unfortunately, these undifferentiated cells cannot be harvested or removed from an adult because an adult's cells have already matured. Once matured, cells can't be overwritten to become another type of cell. but, embryonic cells are technically at a stage of growth where they are clearly cells but they have not yet reached a stage of becoming a specialized cell. Therefore, the stem cells can still be rewritten or redirected so