A stem cell is a generic cell that can make exact copies of itself indefinitely, often throughout the life of the organism. Under the right conditions, stem cells can give rise (differentiate) to specialized cells for various tissues in the body, such as heart muscle, brain tissue, and liver tissue. These tissues are necessary to sustain life.
An adult stem cell is said to be undifferentiated cells that are found among differentiated cell tissues or organs. They can renew themselves to become special cells. The primary roles of the adult cell in a living organism are to maintain and repair the tissues from which they originally came, unlike the embryonic stem cells, which are defined by their pre-implantation stage according to Medicalnewstoday.com.
In order to use stem cells they have to be taken from human embryos. Some people believe embryos are living beings. The issue surrounding the use of stem cells forces us to choose between two moral principles: the duty to prevent suffering or the duty to respect human lives. (Eurostemcell.org).
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Some of the benefits include treating diseases such as: Parkinson’s disease, Genetic Defects, Cardiovascular Diseases, and Burn Victims. In Parkinson’s disease, damaged brain cells can be hopefully reversed with replacement with new healthy brain cells. In Cardiovascular Diseases, someone who suffered a heart attack can sustain heart damage. The damaged tissue can be replaced by healthy muscle tissue. In Burn Victims, stem cells could be used to produce new and healthy tissues. Stem cells can be used to prevent genetic birth defects by restoring function to otherwise unhealthy