WHAT ARE STEM CELLS?
Stem cells are unspecialized cells that have the potential to develop into different types of cells. Stem cells replenish
without limit and act as a repair system to the body. When stem cells divide they can differentiate and become another
type of cell with a specialized function, such as red blood cell, an insulin-producing cell, or a muscle cell.
Stem cells are being researched because they have the unique ability to replace damaged cells with healthy cells, which scientists believe will result in treatments and cures for several diseases.
THE TWO TYPES OF STEM CELLS
Adult Stem Cells
An adult stem cell is an unspecialized cell (with no specific characterization or ‘job’) found in tissues among specialized cells, that can renew itself and, within limitations, can differentiate and become specialized cell types. Scientists disagree whether or not adult stem cells may give rise to cell types other than those of the tissue they originated from. Adult stem cells can be acquired from umbilical cord blood or bone marrow.
Adult stem cells are sometimes referred to as somatic stem cells.
Embryonic Stem Cells
An embryonic stem cell is an unspecialized cell derived from a five-day-old embryo that has not yet been implanted in the wall of a woman’s uterus. An embryonic stem cell has the potential to differentiate into all
cell types of the body.
POTENTIAL USES OF STEM CELL RESEARCH
Studying embryonic stem cells may help scientists better understand how cancer and birth defects develop, both of which are due to abnormal cell differentiation and/or division.
Human stem cells could be used to test new drugs. Some drugs are already tested on cells generated from human cell lines, but advancements would allow a wider range of drugs to be tested.
Stem cells, directed to differentiate into specific cell types, offer the possibility of a renewable source of replacement cells and tissues to treat diseases including Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases, spinal cord injury, stroke, burns, heart disease, diabetes, osteoarthritis, and rheumatoid arthritis.
THE POSSIBILITY
If a renewable source of replacement cells and tissues could be harnessed, gene therapies could drastically change the way diseases are treated.
Example: In a person who suffers from Type I diabetes, the cells of the pancreas that normally produce insulin are destroyed by the patient's own immune system. It may be possible to differentiate stem cells to produce insulin-producing cells that could be used in therapy for diabetics.
Example: In a person who suffers from a spinal cord injury, it may be possible to use differentiated stem cells as regenerative therapy.
Example: Healthy heart muscle cells produced in a laboratory may be used to treat a person with chronic heart disease.
Graph from the NIH website, http://stemcells.nih.gov/staticresources/info/media/DSC_1185.jpg
MORAL DILEMMA
Stem cell research, and the fear of the unknown, has sparked controversy and debate over its morality. With accurate information and straightforward facts, most people find stem cell research well within their moral and ethical bounds.
The controversy:
Embryonic Stem Cell Research
Most frequently, the controversy that surrounds stem cell research is limited to embryonic stem cell research. Embryonic stem cell research has generated debate because it involves the use of a human embryo that was created for reproductive purposes. Misinformation has falsely linked stem cell research to human cloning and abortion. In fact, embryonic stem cell research uses embryos that were created through in vitro fertilization, are no longer wanted, and would otherwise be discarded.
BREAKING IT DOWN: An example
A woman freezes some of her eggs to use at a later time in life through in vitro fertilization. Out of the 12 eggs she has frozen, she uses four eggs and gives birth to her children. The woman is certain she doesn’t want any more children. She has two options: the woman can donate her eggs for stem cell research, or the frozen embryos can be discarded and thrown in the trash.
The concern is that use of a five-day-old blastocyst, which is a hollow microscopic ball of approximately 150 cells, is destruction of human life. The embryos used in stem cell research, however, are only derived from embryos that develop from in vitro fertilization, NOT from eggs fertilized in a woman’s body. Additionally, these embryos are donated with informed consent by persons who do not plan to use the remaining frozen blastocysts, and would otherwise be thrown away.
FOR THOUGHT: In reality, a person “against” embryonic stem cell research should be against in vitro fertilization, not the use of already created entities that would be thrown away as waste if not used for lifesaving research.
Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer (SCNT)
Some controversy also surrounds somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT), which opponents view as a slippery slope to human cloning. Like anything, strict and careful guidelines are absolutely necessary, but restricting research because of improbable scenarios and controllable future possibilities is nonsensical.
FOR THOUGHT: Restricting stem cell research for fear of the unknown is as ludicrous as it would have been to restrict research on penicillin in fear that all the world’s aliments would be cured, no one would die, and the planet would overpopulate. Stalling stem cell research equivocates to people boycotting the Wright brothers’ planes in the early 1900s because they believed people belonged on the ground, not in the air.
Please refer to our Morals and Ethics page for further discussion.
WHERE OUR GOVERNMENT STANDS
Currently stem cell research is not a fiscal or policy priority in our government. With 125 million Americans desperate for cures, and a health care system that cannot financially sustain itself in as little as ten years, it is time to switch from a reactive approach to American health, to a proactive approach, by investing more in medical research.
Problematically, the National Institutes of Health is the largest grant provider for research in the country, yet has been forced to budget an absolute dollar decrease for line-items such as project grants and an inflation-adjusted decrease for others such as research centers. NIH received a slight absolute dollar increase in the 2008 mandatory budget of .81%, but the increase is less than the 2007 2.85% inflation rate. Advancements in research will not happen without funding to support the progress toward cures.
Additionally, the current presidential administration has curtailed efforts by placing restrictive bans on embryonic stem cell research. On August 9th, 2001, President George W. Bush announced that federal funds may only be awarded for research using human embryonic stem cells if restrictive criteria is met, which has severely hampered research efforts. There are only between 19 and 23 usable stem cell lines approved for research and study at this time
In 2005 and 2006 with ‘The US Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act of 2005’ the US Congress tried to expand the number of stem cell lines eligible for federal funding. This initiative passed in both the House and Senate, but was vetoed by President Bush.
In 2006 President Bush decided that only research on stem cell lines that were in existence on August 9, 2001 could receive federal funding.
The encouraging news is that both 2008 Presidential candidates support embryonic stem cell research. Hopefully a new administration will have a more research-friendly political approach and allocate more monetary resources for both adult stem cell research and embryonic stem cell research.
MOVING FORWARD
It is absolutely imperative that we as a pubic unite under a singular banner and vocalize the importance of this lifesaving research to our government.
If you or a loved one are interested in juvenile diabetes, heart disease, osteoporosis, Lou Gehrig’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, arthritis, a spinal cord injury, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, cancer, or have been affected by a birth defect, YOU are interested in stem cell research.
Embryonic cell lines, embryonic stem cells, and adult stem cells from umbilical cord blood or bone marrow are all promising areas of stem cell research that need to be invested in and explored further to be of benefit to the millions of Americans in need of cures.
• Contact your government representatives
• Bring ‘I Am’ to your community, club, church, or campus
• Donate
• Write letters to your local paper
• Talk to friends and family
• Open a dialogue between proponents and opposition
Please contact us for more information.
There are many obstacles to be overcome between the promise of stem cell research and the discovery of cures. Only further, aggressive, and intensive research will turn the hopes of 125 million Americans into a reality.
