Stem cell research
...f people. Stem cells can be divided into three groups. The first one is called embryonic stem cells. They are found in the blastocyst, which is “a small sphere containing fluid and a group of small cells. These are stem cells” (Viegas 57). The blastocyst cells are pluripotent; this means that they can transform themselves into any type of cell. At this stage of gestation the embryo is about four-days old. The second type is called embryonic germ cells. Germ cells are the reproductive cells that form sperm or eggs and they can be obtained from fetuses from five-to ten – week –old. The third category is called adult stem cells. They are obtained from completely formed humans. They can be found in different parts of the body, such as the bone marrow and the blood (Viegas 17-34). In order to clarify what stem cell research really is, here is one example of how future treatments would work using stem cells. Many people worldwide suffer from diabetes, which is caused by the lack of insulin in the pancreas. Diabetic people have to have daily injections of insulin. These injections control the level of hormone but the disease is not cured. “ Doctors may one day be able to inject stem cells into the pancreas of a person with diabetes. The stem cells could divide and produce healthy pancreatic cells that would produce the proper amount of insulin. This treatment could end the need for daily injections, and it might get rid of the disease altogether” (Viegas 53-54). The main reason I strongly believe that stem cell research should continue is simply because it could save millions of lives, especially since new treatments and possible cures for many debilitating diseases could be found. This research holds great promise for patients and their families. These people definitely deserve a chance. The number of people who could benefit from the research is extremely high. Half of the American population could take some advantage from it, including one million children with juvenile diabetes, 8.2 million people with cancer, 60 million with heart disease, 4 million Alzheimer’s sufferers, 10 million people with osteoporosis, 43 million suffer from arthritis, 230.000 with spinal cord injury, etc (Langevin 172). Stem cell research could definitely bring an enormous benefit to mankind. Stem cell research could not just save lives but it could also improve the length and quality of life for ill people. From my point of view, some people are against the research because they don’t know how hard it is to deal with an illness. The ex-president Ronald Reagan is a popular example. He used to suffer from Alzheimer’s, a debilitating disease that took ten years to kill him (Stem Cell Research- All Sides to the Dispute). Obviously, these horrible diseases affect not just people who suffer from them, but their families as a whole. Also, we should think about people who need organs or tissue transplants. They have to wait for donors. While they wait they can become disable or even die. If they find a donor, there is still the possibility of rejection. Worse, for other diseases, there is not even possibility of transplantation or other cures (Goldstein 107). As we can see, these people go through a lot of problems. Another reason why I support stem cell research is because it could definitely guarantee the appropriate and ethical use of human cells. The pro-life movement argues that the research is unethical and immoral. However, their opinion should be reevaluated and better informed. The National Academy of Science created rules for U.S researchers in order to control the unethical use of stem cells. The rules are: “all stem cell research institutions establish an oversight committee; researchers should not pay donors for eggs or sperm; human stem cells shouldn’t be injected into monkey embryos” (Regalado B1). There is also the possibility of using adult stem cells for the research. These cells could be extracted from adult tissues, bone-marrow or umbilical- cord blood. Even though some researchers face challenges when using the different types of stem cells, there is still hope that they can be useful for the research (Bettelheim). Although the issue about ethics and moral of stem cell research is controversial, the question of weathe...