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    Stem Cells Information

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    Pauline Zwanikken
    Embryonic stem cells can develop into any cell type but their use raises ethical issues. Adult stem cells only develop into specific cell types and do not require embryos but may contain cancer-causing mutations. Therapeutic cloning produces patient-matched stem cells but is expensive, risky, and involves extracting eggs. Umbilical cord blood is a rich source of stem cells with no ethical issues and potential to treat blood-related conditions.

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    Stem Cells Information

    Uploaded by

    Pauline Zwanikken
    25 views2 pages
    Embryonic stem cells can develop into any cell type but their use raises ethical issues. Adult stem cells only develop into specific cell types and do not require embryos but may contain cancer-causing mutations. Therapeutic cloning produces patient-matched stem cells but is expensive, risky, and involves extracting eggs. Umbilical cord blood is a rich source of stem cells with no ethical issues and potential to treat blood-related conditions.

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    Stem-Cells-Information

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    Embryonic stem cells can develop into any cell type but their use raises ethical issues. Adult stem cells only develop into specific cell types and do not require embryos but may contain cancer-causing mutations. Therapeutic cloning produces patient-matched stem cells but is expensive, risky, and involves extracting eggs. Umbilical cord blood is a rich source of stem cells with no ethical issues and potential to treat blood-related conditions.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    25 views2 pages

    Stem Cells Information

    Uploaded by

    Pauline Zwanikken
    Embryonic stem cells can develop into any cell type but their use raises ethical issues. Adult stem cells only develop into specific cell types and do not require embryos but may contain cancer-causing mutations. Therapeutic cloning produces patient-matched stem cells but is expensive, risky, and involves extracting eggs. Umbilical cord blood is a rich source of stem cells with no ethical issues and potential to treat blood-related conditions.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
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    Stem Cells Information

    Embryonic Stem cells


    Many stem cells are available in embryos. These can grow into any
    type of cell found in the body. All tissues and organs could
    potentially be grown. Embryos can be produced specifically for
    making stem cells and then discarded. This raises ethical issues.
    There is no guarantee how successful these therapies will be.
    Transplanted tissues and organs may be rejected by the immune
    system of patients. It can be difficult to obtain and store a
    patient’s embryonic stem cells. Patients could be exploited by
    paying for expensive treatments and being given false hope of a
    cure as stem cell therapies are only in their developmental stages.
    They could be used to replace cells that have been damaged or
    destroyed e.g. diabetes and paralysis

    Adult Stem Cells


    Some stem cells remain in the bodies of adults as adult stem cells.
    Their role is to replace body cells that die through injury and
    disease. The adult stem cells can only differentiate into cells from
    the type of tissue where they are found e.g. blood stem cells make
    only blood, and brain stem cells make only brain cell. As the cells are
    from the same body they would not reject their own cells. There are
    no embryos involved. Adults give permission for their own bone
    marrow to be collected. Some human stem cells growing in labs that
    researchers have used in experiments to treat serious diseases
    contain serious cancer-causing mutations.
    Stem Cells Information
    Therapeutic Cloning
    The process involves the nucleus of a body cell from the patient being
    transferred to an egg cell that has had its nucleus removed.  Embryos are
    produced specifically making stem cells and then discarded. This raises
    ethical issues. There is only a small chance that cells will be rejected by
    the patient’s body as the stem cells from the patient are used. Organs
    would have an exact match of the patient's DNA.
    Therapeutic cloning can help create vital organs. This would be helpful for
    people suffering from kidney and other disorders, who are forced to wait
    years for a replacement organ. Therapeutic cloning may be helpful for
    preventing diseases, research in this area of therapeutic cloning is still
    ongoing. The stem cells kept in culture in a lab can show similarities to
    cancer cells. The stem cells have undergone about 60 cell divisions and
    mutations have been observed. It is also possible for viruses to be
    transferred with stem cells, leading to infection.

    Extracting eggs from a female is costly and painful for the woman. The
    cost of therapeutic cloning is very high.

    Umbilical Cord Stem Cells

    After a baby is born, stem cells may be collected from blood left in the
    umbilical cord. This is a rich source of stem cells that are formed from
    the placenta after a child is born and the structure is no longer needed.
    These can be frozen and stored for possible use in the future to treat a
    medical condition later in that child’s life e.g. a family history of a genetic
    disorder. The stem cells are from the same patient so there would be no
    rejection. Private cord blood banks let families store the blood for a fee.

    There are no ethical issues relating to the use of these stem cells as
    embryos aren’t used, but consent from the mother is needed. They could
    be used to replace blood cells that have been damaged or destroyed, for
    example: blood cell cancer e.g. leukaemia and lymphoma, when blood cells
    have been destroyed, e.g during chemotherapy for cancer treatment.

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