Stakeholders of Stem Cell Research
...tific understanding of human development” (Chapman, Frankel, and Garfinkel). Scientists & Medical Researchers: Many scientists and medical researchers believe that stem cell research has a great potential to develop more effective pharmacological drugs with a purpose to treat many serious illnesses, including diabetes, spinal cord injury, blood disorders, Parkinson’s disease, cancer, and other diseases. Embryonic stem cells can transform into more than two hundred tissues in a human body. Other benefits of stem cell research would be increasing knowledge in the treatment of infertility, causes of miscarriages, more effective techniques of contraception, and other new techniques for treating or preventing debilitating diseases. Dan Kauffman, a hematologist and researcher at the University of Wisconsin, explains the progress and promises of stem cell research, “This is a way to start heading down that road, and it's a beginning stage, it's an early stage. We don't have cells yet that we're going to use to treat patients, but this shows that the potential is there one day” (“Blood cells made from Stem Cells.”). Many countries, including South Korea, provided financial support to stem cell research; but in the United States federal funding cannot be used for embryonic stem cell research. Alto Charo, another researcher at the University of Wisconsin, said that some real changes are coming in the future, but “its not like we're going to flip a switch and overnight we're going to cure hundreds of thousands of people," she said (Sloane). SUPPORTIVE. Patients/Patient Groups: There are millions of Americans that suffer from various, sometimes deadly diseases. Many patient groups support embryonic stem cell research because they share a desire to heal and be healthy again (Pollack). Many supporters of stem cell research argue that waiting on the research will delay treatments for a large number of patients who suffer from serious or fatal diseases. Although stem cell treatments are not widely used on patients at this time, there have been some volunteers who desperately wanted to be treated. Ian Rosenberg from London, the fifty-nine year old man, who was told he had two and half months to live, turned to the University Hospital in Frankfurt, Germany, inquiring about the treatment. The treatment was still being tested but Rosenberg did not have years to wait and volunteered. He was treated since July 2003 and is getting better (Rosenberg). Edward Bailey, who lost the sight in his left eye after an accident, can see again after a stem cell operation. He felt very emotional when he realized his vision is coming back after the surgery: “I leave it to your imagination as to the emotion that I felt when I saw my image come into view in the mirror. That was more than two-and-a-half years ago, and I still see colors and have vision. The vision, though blurred, is wonderful to have, and I consider myself a very lucky person… as the success rate increases and the technology moves further ahead, I am very optimistic that my eyesight will improve even more -- and more and more people will regain their sight” (Bailey). Pharmaceutical & Biotechnology Companies / Private Investors: Originally, pharmaceutical companies showed little interest because they considered that other drugs will bring more profits. Some argue that the outcomes of stem cell research are difficult to predict; therefore, investment is the research might not pay off. Other feared government funding restrictions. Ethical debates were another field of concern. With time, several research groups entered the field and now financing several medical treatments: “There are now roughly 140 stem-cell-related products in development, for various forms of cancer, liver disease and other conditions. But more than four-fifths of these projects are in early-stage development, where many a gleam in a scientist's eye dies, and still far from the clinical studies where promising new treatments can also still falter. In addition to these scientific hurdles, the field is fraught with ethical debate over some of its most promising areas, such as the use of stem cells from embryos and therapeutic cloning” (“Hype over experience.”). Many private investors prefer ...