Stem Cells are pioneering the future of organ replacement. Todays scientists are learning more and more about them everyday and are continuing to realise the potential that they have. The use of stem cells is a very tendentious subject because the views of many religions are against using stem cells for reasons I shall write about in this essay. This essay will include what stem cells and stem cell therapy is, the advantages and disadvantages of using them, why scientists started studying stem cells and any controversial issues that comes with the investigation of stem cells.
Stem cells are the cells that made every type of specialised cell in your body. During the embryotic stage of human development, the cells are pluripotent, which means
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One of the most prominent stem cell therapies are bone marrow transplants. Bone marrow produces blood cells that is transported around the body. The bone marrow is harvested from a donor’s pelvis, due to the surface area to volume ratio there is the most in the pelvis. The collected marrow is put into a culture plate to grow to the desired size. The process is very painful for the person giving the marrow but, it will save someone’s life. The damaged cells of bone marrow are replaced due to multiple diseases or procedures. Some of these may include leukemia, aplastic anemia, and prolonged procedures of chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Stem cell therapy has already saved the lives of countless people around the world. Keegan Doheney was diagnosed with leukemia at the age of 2. Due to this new technology, doctors were able to get his cancer to stop growing and start retracting. There was always a chance of a relapse but everyone involved was optimistic that it wouldn’t. When Keegan’s mother had another baby she decided to store the baby’s cord blood. Cord blood is a source of blood stem cells that only comes in the umbilical cord of a new born baby. When Keegan was in kindergarten Wendy could feel that something was wrong and consulted doctors. The doctors thought that the bets course of action to treat Keegan’s leukemia was a transplant. Thankfully, Keldan, the new baby, Matched Keegan’s blood type and that transplant was a success. Bone marrow stem cells have a 25% chance of being a match between siblings vs. cord blood stem cells which have a 50% chance of being a match between siblings. So it was lucky that she did store the blood or else the chance for the transplant to fail. This is just one example of the great research and operations that is being done around the world. Further research and understanding will ensure that deadly diseases such as Leukemia will become easier to cure.