Person Holding Stem Cell Samples

Everything You Need to Know About Stem Cells and Stem Cell Research

There’s a lot of discussion about the use of stem cells and stem cell therapy. You may be wondering why stem cell research is a controversial topic and what the potential benefit of stem cell therapy could be.

We’re going to cue you into the basics of what stem cells are and why they’re so valuable in a medicinal sense. Hopefully, you’ll be better able to contribute to stem cell discussions after reading this article.

Let’s get started:

The Fundamentals of Stem Cell Research

Let’s begin with an overview of what stem cells are.

Stem cells are the human body’s building blocks in terms of cellular function. Cells begin as stem cells and diversify to become specialized cells and serve different functions within the body.

In other words, these cells begin as stem cells then specialize to become blood cells, muscle cells, brain cells, and more. This makes stem cells particularly unique, considering that other cells don’t have the ability to shift into different roles.

Stem cells come from a number of areas. Adult stem cells can be found in most of our tissues, although the volume of stem cells in these tissues is relatively low. Additionally, there’s still research being done to determine whether or not all adult stem cells can specialize in areas that are remote from their original place.

In other words, we’re not entirely confident that bone marrow stem cells could specialize into brain cells.

Why Stem Cells are so Controversial

The reason that many people have an issue with stem cell research is that the most capable stem cells are embryonic.

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Embryonic stem cells are generated in embryos that are less than a week old. When the embryo is in blastocyst form, it generates upwards of 150 stem cells that can be specialized in almost any way.

Additionally, these cells can multiply into new cells that can then be used to repair organs and tissues in a different person’s body. This is why stem cell therapy has so much potential.

The idea that these cells come from an unborn baby, though, is what hangs people up. The dilemma lies in whether or not embryos should be considered full human beings, as well as if the human lives saved by the technology are worth more than the unborn embryos.

There are also some other concerns that play heavily into stem cell debates as well as abortion.

The Value of Stem Cell Therapy

Stem cell therapy is a process that initiates the repair of damaged and dysfunctional tissue through the use of stem cells. Instead of donor organs, stem cells are used to specialize into particular types of cells.

For example, a group of stem cells could be grown in a lab to function as heart muscle cells in a person with a damaged or failing heart. Once grown, those cells would be injected into a person’s heart and aid in the heart’s effort to repair itself.

Interested in Learning More?

The debate over stem cell research is just one of the ethical dilemmas that involve science, spirituality, and medicine. We’re here to help you unpack those issues.

Explore our site for the information you’re looking for.

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