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Megan Blouin
Malcolm Campbell
English 1102
November 12, 2013
The Benefits of Stem Cell Research
Two years ago, my grandmother unfortunately fell down a small flight of stairs that left
her with a strained knee leaving her with two options: limited mobility for the rest of her life or
replacing her knee and qualifying her to be a patient of stem cell research. This was an easy
choice for my active 70 year grandmother. She agreed to go under the knife and have her torn
knee replaced with the help of stem cells being transfused into knee through the help of an IV.
The stem cells that they injected into her knee repaired the torn muscle and built a new layer of
cells over the damaged ligaments in her knee which allowed her to walk again and it gave her
full access to bending her knee once again. If she did not receive the treatment, doctors say that
she would be more inclined to her bed and unable to do the things she is able to do today.
Stem cell research is a well-known controversial topic that has many people vocalizing
their personal opinions on it every single day. From the supporters to the ones who oppose it,
there continues to be a wide range of disagreements among the groups about whether or not stem
cell research should be practiced or not. Stem cell research is separated into two main groups:
adult stem cells and embryonic stem cells, which is the more controversial topic of the two. Both
are engaged in research solely to benefit the human race. People are entitled to their opinions but
who says stem cell research is actually a bad thing? Due to its unethical background, certain
groups such as the Southern Baptist Convention and anti-abortion groups will oppose stem cell
research to be practiced in the medical field. Supporters of these groups believe that stem cell
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research pushes ethical and moral boundaries since embryos are destroyed during this process. !
of Americans however support this research since the process does not involve any type of cruel
action and for the possible benefits of unused cells being able to cure damaged organs (Web-
Exclusives). I am one of the many Americans who supports this specific research since it is
important to understand that this type of research can cure damaged organs and since it is also
known to treat specific diseases such as Parkisons and Alzheimers.
A stem cell is an unspecialized cell that can produce an endless number of exact copies of
itself through cell division (Stem Cell Research). Stem cells make up the formation of our
whole body which is why they are important factors in our life (Jagoda). Certain stem cells such
as, embryonic cells, can produce specialized cells for a variety of tissues in the human body
while adult cells can only generate specific cells such as heart or brain cells. They allow our
bodies to renew and repair themselves by having stem cells continually divide and multiply in
ones body. Stem cells act as an internal repair system allowing our bodies to repair itself on its
own means.
A stem cell transplant begins with a donor and a patient. Once a patient has been given
stem cells from a willing and informed donor, then they will soon begin the process of the
transfusion. Besides being put on the wait list waiting for a donor to donate cells, the patient can
also donate their own stem cells if they are healthy enough (Ben-Joesph). Transfusing foreign
stem cells or even your own stem cells is a multi-step process. First, doctors must decide whether
or not the patients and the donors blood type match. This allows doctors to see if their body
will accept or reject the foreign objects. If you are donating your own cells to your body, you
first must have your cells harvested from your own bone marrow and then transfused into your
bloodstream or into the affected organs. This process is similar to an IV injection, but instead of
Kenny Nguyen 11/29/13 7:22 PM
Comment [2]: Any else speclflc reasons?
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an IV, blood and cells are being transfused into your body where recovery after the transfusion
may take a long period of time. Like any type of transfusion or anything that deals with objects
being inserted into ones body, there are complications. A risk is a situation where one exposes
themselves to danger whether they are informed about it or not. Risks that are involved in these
kinds of research includes the process not working for the individual and the possibility of
tumors, also known as Teratomas, growing after the cells are transfused in ones body. These
types of benign tumors can form in ones body when a cell divides uncontrollably in one area.
These growths can however be removed but the patient can no longer receive stem cells to treat
their affected organs since the transfusion process failed and their body rejected the specific cells
(Stem Cell Treatments).
Stem cell research can be beneficial to humans for many reasons. According to David
Greene, the host of NPR, stem cell research will eventually lead to treatments for diseases
like Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and diabetes. It also allows researchers to study the development
of cells in humans by watching cells multiply and divide in test tubes. This information also
provides insight to researchers and scientists on how humans grow from an embryo to an adult.
Researchers are only limited to testing the production of stem cells on animals and informed
participants of the experiment. In the future they are hoping to test the cells directly in test tubes
instead of testing them on animals or humans to prevent possible pain or nuisance (Watson). This
will allow researchers to gather their data more quickly and possibly find cures easier. Stem cell
research basically gives researchers an insight of human health and sickness which allows them
to produce more treatments for various diseases and evaluate the human body. With this, more
diseases will have cures which results in less diseases in the human population. For example,
years ago, people would acquire the deadly disease of Polio and many succumbed to the
Kenny Nguyen 11/29/13 7:22 PM
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sickness. Once researchers find a cure to it through experimentation, they were able to treat
people and prevent the disease from spreading. This could be a strong possibility for stem cell
research if they continue to experiment. In the near future, heart disease, Cancer, and other
genetic diseases may be wiped out from the human population leading to longer life expectancies
and a healthier society.
There are always two sides to an argument. The people who oppose stem cell research
say it is an attempt at playing God since doctors curing fatal diseases that allow people to live
longer lives than they were intended to. Destroying a fetus can be considered as morally wrong
to most humans since it can be considered as taking someones life. However, the fetus was not
grown into a developed human being and the cells are taken within four or five days after the
embryo is developed enough to obtain certain cells. Also, a week old embryo is merely a cluster
of cells, with no brain or heart proving that the embryo is just a small gathering of cells with no
human abilities. Technically, scientists are not extracting cells from a fully developed human
being, they are just collecting stem cells from an undeveloped cluster of cells. Not only are these
the two biggest negatives about stem cell research but there are also worries about human
cloning and unnaturally long life expectancies (Embryonic Stem Cell Research).
Cloning is when researchers have the ability to create an exact replication of an object
such as an animal or maybe in the near future, even a human being. Steve Inskeep from NPR
says critics fear it (stem cell research) may also lead us closer to human cloning. Since
researchers can find cures and treatments through stem cell research, there is no doubt that they
can also find a way to clone people, since they have already succeeded in cloning sheep and
other animals in the past. There is no possibility of cloning people anytime soon but in the near
Kenny Nguyen 11/29/13 7:22 PM
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Kenny Nguyen 11/29/13 7:22 PM
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future that could be a possibility. The real question here is, who would want to actually clone
people and what would the advantage be of cloning them?
After, much thought and research I realize that both sides (for and against) have strong
evidence and claims to back up each point. I personally believe that conducting stem cell
research will greatly impact the human race in a positive way due to the fact that stem cell
research has more pros to it than cons. Not only will it help find more cures for people but it can
also help rejuvenate damaged cells and muscles in a persons body.
The most controversial of stem cell research is the one with the use of embryonic cells.
This type of research is where most of the heated debates come into play and why stem cell
research is viewed so negatively. Embryonic stem cells sounds exactly how it is, they are stem
cells that are derived from embryos. These types of stem cells are not taken from the fertilized
eggs in a womans body but are the ones that are donated to research with consent from the
donors (Stem Cell Research). After the fertilized eggs are donated, scientists will then
encourage the cells to grow in a tube through the process of in-vitro fertilization. Once the cells
have fully developed, then scientists may extract the needed cells from the donated eggs. While
this particular type of research may cause a stir in debates, embryonic stem cells are the best
types of cells to use for someone since they can regenerate themselves in any part of the body.
Stem cells are unspecialized to begin with but when they are transfused into someones blood,
the cells will adapt to their surroundings and become specialized for that certain type of tissue or
muscle (Peng, Kwok-Pui, Ping-Chung, Jian-Qing). Even though this may be sought out to be
immoral or hard to talk about, I think these types of cells are best for repairing damaged tissues
and are more suitable for research than the adult cells.
Kenny Nguyen 11/29/13 7:22 PM
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Another type of stem cell would be the adult cells. The primary role of these cells are to
repair certain areas that are already damaged but these type of cells are only specific to certain
parts of the body. Unlike embryonic cells that can adapt to anything, these cells can only repair
organs and tissues that they are assigned to. They are just as effective as embryonic cells but they
are limited to certain areas of the body causing transfusion to be a more difficult process since
these cells can only be gathered from amniotic fluid and other adult cells (Stem Cell
Collection). Gathering these stem cells can be done through the process of a bone marrow
transplant from the consent of a willing donor. After the stem cells are gathered then the
transfusion process may begin. The transfusion of these cells are more acceptable because they
do not involve another fetus or human being to be a part of the transfusion process. These cells
can also repair organs and muscles such as the brain and heart since they were specified to repair
those organs if they got damaged.
With the two opposing sides separated, one must look at the overall whole of stem cell
research. With its benefits of finding cures and treatments and also repairing damaged organs,
one can only assume that its benefits weigh out all of the negatives. Even if it is found to be
immoral, wouldnt finding a cure be more valuable to the human society? What if researchers
found a cure to cancer through stem cell research? Wouldnt that be something that everyone
should want? If we put away the negatives and everyones opinions, there should be a clear line
between it being a benefit to the human race and opinions. Overall, I do believe that stem cell
research should be conducted simply because of the overwhelming positives that go along with
it. From finding cures to helping my grandma gain back mobility in her knee, stem cell research
is the push forward that we need in the medical field.

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Works Cited
Ben-Joesph, Elana. KidsHealth. Stem Cell Transplants. KidsHealth, Oct. 2012. Web. 25 Sept.
2013.
Embryonic Stem Cell Research Pros and Cons | Embryonic Stem Cell Research. Embryonic
Stem Cell Research. Stem Cell Research, 20 Apr. 2010. Web. 25 Sept. 2013.
Jagoda, Robin. How Does Stem Cell Treatment Work? LIVESTRONG. LIVESTRONG, 18
Oct. 2009. Web. 25 Sept. 2013.
Peng, Li-Hua, Kwok-Pui Fung, Ping-Chung Leung, and Jian-Qing Gao. Genetically
Manipulated Adult Stem Cells for Wound Healing. Drug Discovery Today (2011): n.
pag. Print.
Stein, Rob. Stem Cell Milestone Revives Intense Ethical Debate. NPR. NPR, 16 May 2013.
Web. 27 Sept. 2013.
Stem Cell Collection. Stem Cell Harvest. Cyberfamily, n.d. Web. 20 Oct. 2013.
Stem Cell Research. Stem Cell Basics [Stem Cell Information]. Stem Cell Basics, 28 Apr.
2009. Web. 27 Sept. 2013.
Stem Cell Treatments. Top 10 Stem Cell Treatment Facts. International Society for Stem Cell
Research, n.d. Web. 19 Oct. 2013.
Watson, Stephanie. How Stem Cells Work. HowStuffWorks. n.d. Web. 25 Sept. 2013.
Web-Exclusives. Stem-cell Research and the Catholic Church. American Catholic Church,
n.d. Web. 20 Oct. 2013.