Imagine a world where any medical ailment, whether it’s cancer or the common cold, can be cured. Broken bones are as easy to fix as a small scrape, and diseases like AIDS that kill white blood cells and weaken the immune system are not as life threatening as they used to be. While this fantasy world isn’t a reality, it could be. Enter the stem cell: An amazing feat of the human body. These cells can become any cell in the human body, from skin tissue to brain cells. Unfortunately, the cells can only become any cell during development - in the womb, that is.Adults have stem cells too, but their functions are vastly limited compared to embryonic stem cells. While there is research on adult stem cells, it is more difficult and the stem cells
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While some may argue over whether an embryo is or isn’t a human life, we actually take cells from humans, too . Organ donors are used to transplant organs to somebody whose life hangs in the balance or if an essential organ stops working - say, a liver. Stem cells are the same way. The cells come from embryos that are extras from IRV (Where a scientist takes a sperm and an egg and creates a zygote for an infertile couple, then places the zygote in a surrogate mother). Stem cells are better than organ donors, however, because the generated organ is based off of cells in the body of the patient. This means that the body is less likely to attack the organ due to white blood cells thinking of the foreign cells as an invader, and even less likely to contract a disease from the new organ. Since stem cells can save lives, it would be a shame to let them go to waste.
It is essential that the research be continued. If we stop research or begin to research something else using stem cell funds, all will be lost. The future of medicine could be so much more efficient and diseases previously thought to be terminal to be cured. Allow the research to continue, and 20XX can become a
While some may argue over whether an embryo is or isn’t a human life, we actually take cells from humans, too . Organ donors are used to transplant organs to somebody whose life hangs in the balance or if an essential organ stops working - say, a liver. Stem cells are the same way. The cells come from embryos that are extras from IRV (Where a scientist takes a sperm and an egg and creates a zygote for an infertile couple, then places the zygote in a surrogate mother). Stem cells are better than organ donors, however, because the generated organ is based off of cells in the body of the patient. This means that the body is less likely to attack the organ due to white blood cells thinking of the foreign cells as an invader, and even less likely to contract a disease from the new organ. Since stem cells can save lives, it would be a shame to let them go to waste.
It is essential that the research be continued. If we stop research or begin to research something else using stem cell funds, all will be lost. The future of medicine could be so much more efficient and diseases previously thought to be terminal to be cured. Allow the research to continue, and 20XX can become a