Stem cell research is a controversial issue. The story of Chloe Levin, who was born prematurely with cerebral palsy and later received stem cell treatment that improved her condition, illustrates the potential benefits of stem cell therapy. However, there are still scientific and ethical questions surrounding stem cell research that prevent it from being more widely used. While individual stories provide hope, a full understanding of the scientific issues is needed to form an opinion on the debate over stem cell research.

1. Stem Cell Research: Yes or No?

2. Chloe Levin was born four weeks early and slightly underweight (SCRF, 2012). Later,
the doctors tried to dispel mother’s unrest, when the girl did not start crawling and
talking in time. However, Chloe’s mother insisted on her daughter’s careful examination:
her ‘perfect little girl’ (SCRF, 2012) could not even hold the bottle herself.
The doctors’ verdict was like a blot from the sky: cerebral palsy, meaning that the girl
may not walk, eat or play like other children of her age (SCRF, 2012). The life of people
with disease is always a battle: they must put much more efforts to live fully and
independently.
Chloe’s parents remember the day, when they were called and proposed treatment with
stem cells from cord blood, which was saved after the girl’s birth. The effect from
reinfusion of Chloe’s own cord blood stem cells into her bloodstream (SCRF, 2012)
exceeded all the parents’ expectations: few days after medical procedure, Chloe could
already tell her name; soon she could walk and do other simple physical activities.
Currently, her life does not differ greatly from the life of her peers.
The story of Chloe is not isolated. Many people in the country and around the world can
give their own evidences, when stem cells improved the quality of their lives.
Then why does this so effective and comparatively cheap therapy has not already
become the widespread medical practice? Stem cells research is considered to be one

3. of the most controversial issues in modern science. Currently, there is no univocal
opinion about efficiency and ethics of stem cells research and reinfusion. The story of
little girl, who has defeated her disease, sounds very impressive; we, however, do not
know the scientific side of the problem, which will allow to make our own opinion on the
problem.
The term ‘stem cells’ is often used to identify biological cells, which can divide and
differentiate into various specialized cell types and are able to renew, producing more
cells. The history of stem cell researches can be traced back to 1960s and is associated
with the names of Ernest McCulloch and James Till (Becker, et.al., 1963).
The researches in the filed have advanced by leaps and bounds, and currently the use
of highly plastic adult stem cells in medical therapies, for example, in bone marrow
transplantation, is a routine procedure.
That is, probably, the point, when my researches can come to a standstill: stem cells
save human lives; they divide quickly, thus, unlike any other transplanting procedure,
stem cells reinfusion can hardly affect donor’s health …