Let me familiarize you with stem cells first, think of them as jobless individuals with no specialization but with the power to generate others who master one specific function. Isn’t that genius? They’re the game changers! Stem cells are actually undifferentiated cells that have the potential to develop into different kinds of cells with specialized functions like muscle cells, blood cells or brain cells. They have even proved to fix damaged tissues sometimes and they work like our body’s own repair system. When these stem cells are grown and cultured under optimum conditions, they reproduce to form daughter cells which either become new stem cells or specialized cells. This makes stem cells an invaluable resource for medicine. But where do these stem cells come from? They come from early-stage embryos or the bone marrow. Stem cells are mainly classified on the basis of their differentiation potential and their residency. Stem cells can be totipotent, pluripotent or multipotent based on their potential to differentiate and are present in 2 forms: embryonic stem cells and adult stem cells.
Now, think about the endless range of possibilities that comes with these tiny cells that possess the power to cure. They can be used for various therapeutic purposes, in regenerative medicine, to test new medicines for efficiency, to understand the occurrence of diseases and primarily to provide hope for various untreatable diseases. Researchers can even explore the conditions for development of a disease or virus by observing stem cells mature into different specialized cells which can be very insightful for future studies and even help in developing more effective medicines. New drugs can even be tested on these cells to ensure their effectiveness and safety without harming any other living organism. Moreover, Stem cell therapy is a form of regenerative medicine which stands for replacing cells, tissues or organs using stem cells in order to establish normal function again. If a patient’s body is not producing sufficient amounts of stem cells, they can even get a stem cell transplant which is either autologous or allogeneic. Autologous stem cell transplant refers to the extraction of the patient’s own stem cells to replace the cells and the patient is their own donor, whereas Allogeneic stem cell transplant refers to the use of stem cells from a donor. Stem cell transplants are typically done for cancer patients that go through high doses of radiation therapy and need to repair their damaged bone marrow.
So, the procedure of stem cell therapy evidently utilizes stem cells to restore the body’s own process of healing, making this a great way to save lives. But what is stopping stem cells to be the turning point of medicine? Why is stem cell therapy considered ethically wrong?
Since, there is still lot of research required before expanding the use of stem cells, further knowledge into the development of embryonic stem cells will lead to a better understanding of the specialized cells generated from them. But due to the extraction of stem cells from human embryos, some people find this procedure morally wrong and they raise questions about the ethics of this research. The National Institutes of Health even created a guideline for stem cell research which clearly states the conduct of intramural stem cell research which includes obtaining stem cells by the use of in vitro fertilization shall only be conducted when the embryo is no longer needed. Even while the disputes about the ethics of this research persist, other techniques such as Induced Pluripotent stem cells (IPSC’s) lighten some controversies.
Now to wrap it up, we can conclude that stem cells can revolutionize the field of medicine but only with the right knowledge and research. The continuously expanding applications of stem cells can possibly treat the untreatable and the advent of stem cells have brought hope to the field medicine as they hold immense potential to enhance our understanding of human biology.
Vaanya Gupta
12th Grade
2 Comments
Very informative n precise
Great article to get access with stem cell and related queries!!
All the best for your future endeavors!!