I think that with stem cell research there are advantages and disadvantages which make people either disagree or agree with stem cell research.
Behind stem cell research there are obvious social and ethical issues. A big ethical issue is questioning when the embryo becomes a human life. You could argue that the embryo is a human life and that using it for medical research is murdering it, a human life. But, i think that in general, a sick person has more rights than an embryo and if the embryo is used for medical research to help the sick person, then it is not murder it is using it to help future generations.
Some people argue that the embryos could be used for couples in society who are trying to have a baby and can't, therefore resort to ivf treatments. I think that it is good that they are trying to find solutions to curing a disease of this day.
There are also some advantages and disadvantages of stem cell research.
The advantages are : -
- It provides medical benefits in the fields of therapeutic cloning and regenerative medicine.
- It provides great potential for discovering treatments and cures to a plethora of diseases including Parkinson's disease, schizophrenia, Alzheimer's disease, Cancer, spinal cord injuries, diabetes and many more.
- Limbs and organs could be grown in a lab from stem cells and then used in transplants or to help treat illnesses.
- It will help scientists to learn about human growth and cell development.
- Scientists and doctors will be able to test millions of potential drugs and medicine, without the use of animals or human testers. This necessitates a process of simulating the effect the drug has on a specific population of cells. This would tell if the drug is useful or has any problems.
- Stem cell research also benefits the study of development stages that cannot be studied directly in a human embryo, which sometimes are linked with major clinical consequences such as birth defects, pregnancy loss and infertility. A more comprehensive understanding of normal development will ultimately allow the prevention or treatment of abnormal human development.
- Another advantage of stem cell research is that it holds the key to reversing the effects of aging and prolonging our lives. Stem cell research has already found many treatments that help slow the aging process, and a bonus of further stem cell research is a possible 'cure' for aging altogether.
- An advantage of the usage of adult stem cells to treat disease is that a patient's own cells could be used to treat a patient. Risks would be quite reduced because patients' bodies would not reject their own cells.
- An advantage of using embryonic stem cells is that they can develop into any cell types of the body, and may then be more versatile than adult stem cells.
And the disadvantages are : -
- The use of embryonic stem cells for research involves the destruction of blastocysts formed from laboratory-fertilized human eggs. For those people who believe that life begins at conception, the blastocyst is a human life and to destroy it is immoral and unacceptable.
- Like any other new technology, it is also completely unknown what the long term effects of such an interference with nature could materialize.
- Embryonic stem cells may not be the solution for all ailments.
- According to a new research stem cell therapy was used on heart disease patients. It was found that it can make their coronary arteries become narrower.
- A disadvantage of most adult stem cells is that they are pre-specialized, for instance, blood stem cells make only blood, and brain stem cells make only brain cells.
- A disadvantage of embryonic stem cells is that they are derived from embryos that are not a patient's own and the patient's body may reject them.
Overall, i do think that stem cell research is important in helping save lives and find many cures for the future.
