Pros and Cons of Stem Cell Research | Adult Cells

As I’ve been going around reading articles about stem cells I’m starting to get annoyed at all of the negative sentiments for politicians who don’t grant money for embryonic stem cell research. These sites pretend as if embryonic stem cells have a thousand times the promise as adult stem cells and that is just the governor, or the president who is opposed. What might surprise them is that all of their assumptions aren’t completely accurate. So, here are the two most common things that we hear about the Pros and Cons of Stem Cell Research, (In this case always on the Pros of Stem Cell Research) That aren’t true.

The first myth is that embryonic stem cell research carries significantly more promise than adult stem cells. That could not be more exaggerated. True, I will admit that it does have promise, but I wouldn’t say anymore that Adult Stem Cells. As I have said in countless other blogs, Adult Stem Cells are shocking scientists who are ecstatic about their new found abilities. These cites often disregard recent research about stem cells derived from amniotic fluid saying that it is “new and unproven.” Hello, we’re talking about research. If it’s not new and unproven then it’s not real research, it’s just a waste of money. Embryonic Stem Cells are also unproven, after-all, no successful treatments have been performed on humans with these cells, but there have been almost a hundred for adult stem cells. I agree that Embryonic Stem Cells likely have potential, but not a lot more.

And secondly, that Politicians who oppose Stem Cell Research are the only people who oppose it, and by maintaining their ridiculous stance they are killing people. Come on!!!! In most cases, these politicians were voted in by people who wouldn’t support embryonic stem cell research. If it was really that small of a minority don’t elect them. Simple as that. But in reality, while I won’t say an overwhelming majority of American’s agree with them, I do think it would be a mistake to refer to it as a big minority. Research, by nature is also a guess on what will work. A lot of great findings have been found from research that some didn’t think would go anywhere, and there have been a lot of studies that show a lot of potential that yielded no results. In fact, a lot of research really goes to those who show the best potential, that is really all we can analyze. I think that the Pros Side of the Pros and Cons of Stem Cell Research needs to settle down and stop reverting to name calling to try to make their point.

Pros and Cons of Stem Cell Research

So a lot of us have either given or received blood from blood bank. The Red Cross and similar organizations literally gather thousands of pints of blood to give to those who have special needs. Many college students have even stayed alive by donating plasma. But, has anyone ever thought about a Public Umbilical Cord Bank?

Many new parents have heard about Umbilical Cord Blood Banking and Registries. But, it’s pretty expensive to do, so a lot of that blood just gets thrown away. The average cost right now is about $1500 with an annual fee of about $100. For those parents who don’t have as much money as they might want, they would probably rather put that in a college fund or the like. But, the government recently donated money for 6 banks to store public cord blood. The donor’s will wave their rights to using the blood and it will be used for a bank. This way, just like donating your blood, those who meet the given criteria can use your stem cells for their benefit. It is a really good idea. Preserving your cord blood costs a lot and you might never even use it. But this way when you need it, you should be able to get it, and every new child can donate without any real loss to themselves. A pretty cool idea if you ask me. This is a definite Pro in the Pros and Cons of Stem Cell Research.

In an article in the Washington Post that I read today, (if you look at the date, it’s kind of old news, but new to me) I learned that they can actually use skin cells to make embryonic stem cells. The difference might be that they just classify them as Adult Stem Cells now (I do know that they can use skin to obtain adult stem cells), but back then they called them embryonic stem cells.

Either way, it is amazing to me how they are able to obtain adult stem cells from so many different sources. It truly is impressive that we no longer need embryo’s or need to use bone marrow or something difficult to get stem cells. Instead we can use skin, hair follicles, and lot’s of different things to obtain stem cells. This truly is amazing.

Just another amazing find in the Pros and Cons of Stem Cell Research.

I am always amazed at what stem cell research has done so far and the amazing potential it still seems to have. From cures to heart defects to taking anti-cancer drugs to cancer cells, it appears that stem cell research can do everything. Again, one of the Pros in the Pros and Cons of Adult Stem Cell Research.
It is widely hoped that neural stem cells will eventually be useful for replacing nerves damaged by degenerative diseases like Alzheimer disease and multiple sclerosis. But there may also be another use for such stem cells–delivering anti-cancer drugs to cancer cells.

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So you think your an expert on stem cell research? You think you know about all of the Pros and Cons of Stem Cell Research? You must know everything, that we can get adult stem cells from hair follicles and umbilical cord blood. Well, for those of you who think that, and for those of you who don’t, try taking the stem cell research quiz. It’s a little over five minutes long, but I think it was pretty good. Leave a comment, let me know how you did.

I realized that I have just been blogging about stem cells in general. While I don’t think that is bad, even important at times, the purpose of this blog is to list the different sides of the debate. Many of us know that the center of the debate of the Pros and Cons of Stem Cell Research revolves around embryonic stem cells and if they are just as good. But, there is another side that isn’t on the forefront, but has a lot of implications in the debate. That is whether or not Adult Stem Cells have as many capabilities as Embryonic Stem Cells. For many years the debate was fueled by the embryonic advocates saying that Adult Stem Cells weren’t really capable of turning into other types of cells and were therefore limited in what they could become. Well, allow me to list the reasons why many in the scientific world are changing their mind.

It should be noted that more money is given to Adult Stem Cell Research (the NIH gave $190 Million last year compared to the $24.8 million given for Embryonic Stem Cells). But, what many of the Adult Stem Cell critics are missing is that they have been used in many treatments. 72 adult stem cell treatments have been performed at last count, while a whopping 0 have been performed from Embryonic Stem Cells. Adult stem cells are used in bone-marrow transplants and even treat certain cases of leukemia and other blood disorders. There are also treatments being made for heart attacks, liver, bone and brain diseases and disorders.

“Osiris, which grew out of research by scientists at Case Western University in Cleveland, is using stem cells from bone-marrow donors to target, among other maladies, heart disease, specifically heart attacks. It is in early-stage human testing of a therapy in which heart-attack patients are intravenously injected with stem cells that are said to migrate to the heart and replace damaged cells.” - The Washington Post

John Hopkins University Professor, Saul J. Sharkis, who has mad advances in Adult Stem Cell Research, was very surprised at what has been accomplished in Adult Stem Cell Research. He says, “It is mind-blowing stuff,” and “I never would have thought this would be possible … Preposterous. Not Possible. No Way.”

Obviously many in the scientific community are excited and surprised by these findings. If this really is the answer, it could be the end to the debate over the Pros and Cons of Stem Cell Research as we know it. It is definitely an exciting possibility that has already yielded some great successes.