Sten cell

Running head : STEM CELLS

Stem Cells

[Author 's Name]

[Tutor 's Name]

[Class]

Abstract

The results of the recent stem cell researches give some hope to million of diabetes patients . Embryonic stem cell research has become the subject of arduous ethical debate . This is why researchers propose several scientific solutions for generating stem cells from other sources

Stem Cells

Introduction

Stem cell researches cause arduous debates on whether it is ethical or not to generate stem cells from embryos . The results of recent researches give

some hope to people suffering diabetes . As diabetes is becoming an international problem , stem cells may cure thousands of diabetics in future

On February 21 , 2008 , the New York Times published an article called Using Stem Cells , Researchers Control Diabetes in Mice ' The author of the article stated that researchers were able to control diabetes in mice by harnessing human embryonic stem cells . The work raised the prospect that embryonic cells might one day be used to provide insulin-producing replacement cells to treat the disease in people (Pollack , 2008 . Although it is very doubtful that the tested stem cells will be used in people , the initial results are very promising especially for Type 1 Diabetes patients . Type 1 Diabetes destroys a person 's own islet cells . [ .] there are too few donors to provide cell replacement to more than a small percentage of diabetics (Pollack 2008 . Taking into account , that the number of diabetes patients in the U .S . equaled 20 .8 million in 2002 (American Diabetes Association , 2003 stem cells can completely change medical approaches to diabetes treatment . The problem is that researchers use embryos as the basic source of stem cells . This fact causes serious opposition on the side of those who take embryos as live people . For many , the process of stem cells generation from embryos is equaled to murder . The issue impacts the already mentioned 20 .8 million of the U .S . population , with 132 billion annually spent at medical needs of diabetes patients (American Diabetes Association , 2003

The estimated 132 billion cost likely underestimates the true burden of diabetes because it omits intangibles , such as pain and suffering care provided by nonpaid caregivers , and several areas of health care spending where people with diabetes probably use services at higher rates than people without diabetes (e .g , dental care , optometry care and the use of licensed dietitians (American Diabetes Association 2003

The researchers are actively involved into searching different sources of stem cells . However , other possible solutions are still related to embryos but exercise different safer ' medical approaches to extracting stem cells from embryos . First , researchers suggest that stem cells could be extracted from the embryos which are in the state of arrested development . The term is applied to embryos that are believed will never develop further (McConchie , 2005 . However , there are no clear medical criteria or technical means to determine the brain death ' of an embryo . Second , scientists suggest that to generate stem cells , one can apply methods similar...