1. 4/1/2012
JUNIOR A BRIEF OVERVIEW OF STEM CELLS AND THEIR
PAPER VARIOUS CONTROVERSIES
Author | Trent Pierce

2. Pierce 1
Imagine a world where specialists can make the paraplegic walk or the blind see again.
This is all possible with stem cells.Stem cells are cells with the ability to become any type of the
220 different kinds of cells found in the adult human body (svoboda).They are of great interest to
the medical community because they have the potential to heal any part of the human body.Stem
cells could help millions of people every year, from people who have only slight injuries to
people who are seemingly untreatable.Therefore their capabilities cannot be ignored.Many
people in religious communities would like to stop stem cell research because they feel it is
unethical.Their beliefs say that stem cell research is wrong, but stem cells are extremely
important to the future of medicine.It is however preferable that we find alternatives to the use of
human embryos for the acquisition of stem cells.
Stem cell research is potentially a medical miracle, but not without costs.As of now the
most affected stem cells can only be obtained from human embryos.This of course has its own
set of ethical problems and many people of the religious community are against it
(controversy).A fellow student of mine points out that “Embryonic stem cells are necessary for
growth in the stem cell research area (leposa).” When posed the question, “If you were in an
accident and became paraplegic and the only way you could be cured was with an embryonic
stem cell therapy, would you agree to treatment?” she responded “Yes, but only if there were
laws in place regarding the mother’s safety and consent (leposa).”Although there are many other

3. Pierce 2
ways to get stem cells, only embryonic stem cells are fully pluripotent.Other types of stem cells
exist such as multipotent stem cells.Multipotent means that the cell may transform into any type
of cell only in the organ group it was obtained from, pluripotent means that the cell can become
any type of cell found in the human body.Other than embryonic stem cells,stem cells may be
acquired from other sources such as umbilical cord blood, bone marrow and occasionally in
organs but in the latter two cases they are only pluripotent (svoboda).InducedPluripotency is
using chemicals or other means to turn a less effective stem cell, such as an Adult Stem Cell into
a fully pluripotent stem cell.This has the effect of removing the ethical boundary of embryos
from the picture.There are few ways of achieving this.Another method is Somatic Cell Nuclear
Transfer, which is the process of squeezing the nucleus out of a human egg, a skin cell from
another person with a live nucleus is inserted into the egg, the cell is given a small electric
charge to revive it, it is allowed to grow until it forms a small mass of cells called a blastocyst,
which contains stem cells, the stem cells are then removed from the blastocyst.This process has
been used to produce skin, neural, striated muscle, retina, bone, intestinal, epithelial, cartilage
and kidney cells (park).This process is extremely controversial because if the blastocyst was not
stopped from growing it would form a human clone.This in itself is a big deal to say the least
because cloning is illegal and highly controversial (svoboda).When asked if she would support
Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer Leposa responded, “I would support this more than embryonic
methods but only if it were not allowed to form a clone (leposa).”

4. Pierce 3
Even the government has been embroiled in the ethical controversy of stem cells.During
his presidency, Bush put forth an executive order that severely limited all government funding
for any stem cell research (NIH).After the Obama administration came to office President
Obama removed Bush’s executive order with his own (controversy). This resulted in a huge
jump of almost 400 million dollars in federal funding in 2008 (NIH).Government funding and
grants are very important to the success of any high expense scientific program.The government
possesses funds and equipment that private investors simply cannot match.The first significant
amount of money for stem cell research was in 1998 at almost $150,000,000.This steadily rose
to just over $600,000,000 in the year 2005 and by 2010 it reached $1,200,000,000.Leposa
believes that “Government funding should focus on the newer ways of obtaining stem cells other
than embryos, but should not disregard embryonic stem cells entirely (leposa).”
Stem cell research could save millions of people a year if it has a significant
breakthrough. Recently a breakthrough was made with Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer method in
which the nucleus was not squeezed out of the egg and this yielded much better response from
the body. The only major drawback was that due to the two nuclei residing in the egg, the stem
cells where not perfect copies of the patients DNA. This would mean that the patient would have
to take anti-rejection drugs for the stem cells to not be killed by the patient’s immune system
(researchers). Stem cells could be used in any disease or ailment where new cells are needed.
This umbrellas a huge array of disabilities, diseases and sicknesses which include full organ
transplants, regrowth of an amputated limb, burn victims, and even diabetics as well as many

5. Pierce 4
cancer patients (controversy). Experiments have even been done to grow many small livers in
one’s lymph nodes to pick up the slack so to speak of a failing liver; this treatment achieved a
40% increase in liver function (growing).
Many governments have put laws and regulations on stem cell research. But these laws
are often hastily made and the consequences are overlooked. These regulations are often a by-
product of emotion and do not reflect good judgment or thought. They are also closely tied to the
religious controversies and do not reflect scientific insight, therefore they are dogmatic and
hindering the health of thousands if not millions of people.
Stem cell research is very important to the future medical industry and to health of
millions of people worldwide. As breakthroughs are announced the world clamors for the day it
can heal anything from a simple laceration to a missing leg or organ with a simple injection of
the patients own cells. Although this may seem farfetched or a long way into the future it is
approaching faster than we think and often faster than governments and traditionalists can cope
with. These people often say that these kind of researches are “unethical” and do not reflect good
morals. As a society we must overcome these stigmas and stereotypes so a golden age of
medicine may visit us.