Benefits Of Embryonic Stem Cell Research

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An infinitesimal girl, in dire need of a heart transplant, hopelessly looks around her dull hospital room with no excitement in her eyes. At her age, she should be outside but, she is hooked up to a ventilator which is essentially breathing for her. She has been in the same hospital room for the past five months, longing for the heart that she might never get. However, if the U.S government increased funding for embryonic stem cell research, scientists would be able to genetically program embryonic stem cells to repair the defective sections of the girl’s heart. Embryonic stem cell development is a branch of the broader field of stem cell research, which focuses on extracting stem cells from excess embryos which won’t be implanted into a woman’s …show more content…
If scientists program these cells to grow into hearts, livers, lungs and other organs, they can end up saving the lives of millions of people who are in dire need of transplants. CVD (a disease that deprives heart tissue of oxygen, which kills the muscle cells) has been ranked as the number 1 cause of death in the U.S since 1900 (“Frequently Asked Questions”). However, scientists have been studying embryonic stem cells for cardiac repair and have had surgeons place these stem cells into a beating heart during open heart surgery, the results concluded embryonic stem cells do improve the functionality of a defective heart (“Frequently Asked...”). Scientists hope pluripotent cells can provide stableness in the lives of those suffering from catastrophic genetic disorders such as diabetes, muscular dystrophy as well as degenerative diseases like Parkinson 's, Alzheimer 's and ALS. Providing stem cells to parts of the body which are affected by these illnesses will dramatically help scientists in their efforts to understand the basic, underlying problems in cells with these genetic mutations. That is because stem cells offer a unique window of light into cell development and inform scientists on how the development of cells goes astray in critical illnesses. Therefore, the American government should continue funding embryonic stem cell research because of their sheer medical effectiveness in curing illnesses and organ

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