Stem Cell Therapy and Ethics

The basic reason for use of stem cell therapy in the medical field is due to the fact
that stem cells own special self-regenerating properties and important cell differentiation
characteristics which can be utilized for therapeutic purposes (Lin et al 2013). To define,
cells in their embryonic state are pluripotent stem cells that can generate all tissues as
said by Kim (2010). In medicine, stem cell therapy could potentially rebuild injured
tissue or assist in natural restoration (Lin et al 2013). Osteoporosis as well as Stargadt’s
Syndrome both have the potential to undergo stem cell therapy say Garcia (2015) and
Arjmand (2020). Arjmand (2020) states that osteoporosis is a chronic disorder which is
prominent in the elderly. It causes fractures due to bone mass decreasing and the
deterioration of bone tissue making the bones fragile and easy to fracture. On the other
hand, Stargardt’s Disease is a retinal disease that heavily involves macular degeneration
and is likely the most common form of paediatric macular degeneration (Garcia 2015).
To dive deeper into Stargardt’s disease, it essentially involves macular
degeneration which is a distribution in retinal pigment epithelium (RPE), RPE allow us to
simply said, see, as stated by Garcia (2015). A significant solution to this is the
replacement of RPE in its early stages, which can be accomplished through the human
embryonic stem cell (hESC) says Garcia (2015). The manipulated hESC RPE shows
many consistent similarities to the adult RPE meaning it would be the perfect match for
regenerating the RPE as said by Garcia (2015). Stem cell therapies also have the ability to
treat osteoporosis. Osteoporosis is a disorder which has both endogenous and exogenous
components, and by utilizing the ability of differentiation in stem cells it is possible to
manipulate them into bone-forming cells to create new bone tissue (Arjmand 2020). The
stem cells are important because of the Paracrine effect, which is when the stem cells
help stimulate the cells of the patient with osteoporosis and contribute to repairing and
regenerating dead tissue, without having to regenerate brand new tissue on its own which
is why it is also ideal for osteoporosis treatment as said by Arjmand (2020).
Furthermore examining the ethics of stem cells are the fact that, one predominant
place stem cells are found are postnatal mothers, and can be found in them as late as 27
years after birth (Patel 2006). With the cells special ability to simply put, become any
other form of cell they are highly sought after says Patel (2006). Stem cells can be
harvested through a fetus or they can be found in bone marrow, both having
complications with ethics, one much more important than the other(Patel 2006). Stem
cells found in bone marrow have very little debate on their ethics as they can be harvested
from living donors says Patel (2006). However the complications are met with stem cells
found in the embryo known as embryonic cells. There is a huge ethics discussion and
objection with harvesting embryos just for stem cell research and therapy Patel (2006). If
a pregnant woman decides to allow stem cells to be harvested there are complications that
can follow, one of the most deadliest being an involuntary abortion of the fetus which
above all, is a chance many people are not willing to take (Patel 2006).
 ​Works Cited

Patel, P. (2006). A Natural Stem Cell Therapy? How Novel Findings and Biotechnology Clarify
the Ethics of Stem Cell Research. Journal of Medical Ethics, 32(4), 235-239. Retrieved
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Kim, K., Doi, A., Wen, B. et al. (2010) Epigenetic memory in induced pluripotent stem cells.
Nature 467, 285–290 . ​https://doi.org/10.1038/nature09342
Garcia, J. M., Mendonça, L., Brant, R., Abud, M., Regatieri, C., & Diniz, B. (2015). Stem cell
therapy for retinal diseases. World journal of stem cells, 7(1), 160–164.
https://doi.org/10.4252/wjsc.v7.i1.160
Arjmand, B., Sarvari, M., Alavi-Moghadam, S., Payab, M., Goodarzi, P., Gilany, K., Mehrdad,
N., & Larijani, B. (2020). Prospect of Stem Cell Therapy and Regenerative Medicine in
Osteoporosis. Frontiers in endocrinology, 11, 430.
https://doi.org/10.3389/fendo.2020.00430
Lin, H., Otsu, M., & Nakauchi, H. (2013). Stem cell therapy: An exercise in patience and
prudence. Philosophical Transactions: Biological Sciences, 368(1609), 1-14. Retrieved
February 20, 2021, from http://www.jstor.org/stable/41740098