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Kevin Chan

Mrs. Guajardo

English II Leadership P2

5/14/17

The Issues at the Root of Stem Cells

Medical technology has grown to levels in our modern society that has never been

achieved before. However, newer forms of medical methods have slowly encroached itself into

our lives, and for many, may appear to create more damage that it fixes. Stem Cell research is

one of these newer technologies, and in the 21st century, has spurred many debates as to its

ethicality and safety. While stem cell research should continue, federal funding should stop in

order to allow for focus in developing newer safer medical technologies that can heal similar

diseases.

Stem Cells are extremely specific cells from specific places in the human body that can

be used in medical procedures. People with physical trauma and diseases such as heart disease

and diabetes can receive Stem Cell transplants to assist the body during the healing process. Put

simply by the National Institute of Healths Stem Cell Information page, Serving as a sort of

repair system, they can theoretically divide without limit to replenish other cells for as long as

the person or animal is still alive. (Bethesda). Stem cell that are injected into the bloodstream

can turn into a blood cells, stem cells that are injected into the brain can become brain cells, etc.

This ability for these cells to shapeshift comes from the way they were programmed originally

to behave.

Popular sources for these highly specific cells are often found in places like human

embryos (which are harvested by creating human embryos in a lab setting). When a woman starts
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to develop a fetus, the cells of the zygote (fertilized egg) begins to divide. These first few cells

created from these divisions are stem cells, because they can become whatever cell the fetus will

need. After a certain amount of time these cells continue to break apart into more specialized

cells, and lose the capability to behave like a stem cell. Most debate over this issue spurs from

the method in which these stem cells are harvested.

These embryo stem cells are from a lab. There, scientists combine an egg and sperm to

fertilize the egg, and eventually it begins to grow like a regular human child would in a uterus.

At that point when the cells have reached a certain point, the cells are harvested. Bernard Lo

from the Endocrine Society states human embryonic stem cell (hESC) research is ethically and

politically controversial because it involves the destruction of human embryos.(Lo). This is

where the controversy sparks.

The main party that opposes this type of activity are Christians. Many references in the

Bible make obvious references to the unborn, and that even before birth they are created, and

uniquely valuable to god. One example of this is seen in Psalm 139 For you formed my inward

parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb 14 I praise you, for I am fearfully and

wonderfully made.[a]Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.(Psalm). Many of

these people call themselves supporters of Pro-Life, and are against many other controversial

issues such as abortion. On the other hand, those who see Stem Cells as the most innovative new

medical technology. Most oversee the cons to mainly back up their stance in the lifesaving

potential and use of Stem Cells.

However, many rebut this by providing other solutions using bone marrow stem cells,

which are basically identical to embryonic stem cells. While it may seem simpler, there are

drawbacks to this also. The process used to obtain this marrow requires the donor to be put under
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complete anesthesia, and a surgical process which includes needles inserted through the

hip/breast bone to draw the marrow out of the bone. In total, this process can take up to an hour.

Also, this is a donor process, so if you want cells this way, you must find someone who will

undergo this procedure for you, and in serious cases sometimes you must be the donor. Yet in

most cases if a person sick enough to need the cells, it is unlikely they have the physical

capabilities to undergo a procedure like this, making this dependent on others.

Because of the difficulty to obtain these cells, it has harbored a serious black market.

Many behind the back deals and transactions have become extremely popular in the world

market dealing with Stem Cells, in a format like other smuggled goods such as marijuana and

cocaine. Along with the illegal and unsafe nature of this process anyway, many scammers will

sell consumers cells that are not actually stem cells. Patients who use these cells can face terrible

reactions because of their body trying to get rid of it, and can (in worst cases) lead to death. In

fact, according to One News Now, a recent 2015 court case in Budapest Hungary found eight

people guilty of selling embryonic stem cells from aborted babies illegally to be used in plastic

surgery. Luckily these people were caught, but had they not been there could have been a large

possibility the cells under their possession could have been unsafe.

In addition, the use hasnt been proven to be 100% safe. One disadvantage is the chance

of the patient getting cancer from the use of these cells. Leslie Waghorn from the health science

center at Texas A&M University states Researchers now believe that cancerous stem cells may

trigger reproduction and growth of cells within a cancer.(Waghorn). In another instance, a

research project put on by the New England Journal of Medicine where Parkinsons patients

were applied to stem cells resulted in After improvement in the first year, dystonia and

dyskinesias recurred in 15 percent of the patients who received transplants, even after reduction
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or discontinuation of the dose of levodopa. (Freed). In other words, these patients experienced

uncontrollable movements in a seizure type manner.

My proposed solution to this issue is stop federal funding to this type of research, yet not

to ban it. While it is extremely important for us as humans to have because of its great

capabilities, there is a larger and more hidden reason for the effectiveness on a ban on federal

funding. Taking away the focus off stem cells and on newer medical technologies that can

accomplish similar goals is the best solution, that can be more affordable, safer, easier, and more

accessible to those in need. On top of that, the NIH spent 614 Million dollars in 2007 just on

research, which is an incredible amount of money (John Neurohr).

While there are many technologies currently on the rise, the most likely to completely

replace stem cells is 3D printing. 3D printing is not new technology, but recently, researchers

have used printing techniques to accomplish something very different. 3D printing body parts.

3D printing body parts opens many new avenues. The products themselves take a short amount

of time to produce, and cost nearly nothing. In addition, they (with recent studies) have proven to

operate better than the organs we were born with.

Lets take the human kidney for example. With older stem cell techniques, one could

inject stem cells into a patient and wait for a long time for those stem cells to heal the kidney,

and that doesnt guarantee that the kidney will work for a long time. However, if one was to 3D

print a kidney, we would get rid of most of the issues. While the transplant would require

surgery, the actual organ would cost near nothing, no long healing process would be necessary,

and that organ is guaranteed to exist in that patient and work efficiently for the rest of that

persons lifetime. On top of that, no donor would be required, which is extremely important in
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scenarios where time is a factor, with diseases like stroke, or heart failure; a process that would

take no more than a couple hours for a machine to fix you up with a new organ.

An additional example dealing with a jaw bone is described by Professor Atala from the

Wake Forest Baptist Medical Centre "We'd bring the patient in, do the imaging and then we

would take the imaging data and transfer it through our software to drive the printer to create a

piece of jawbone that would fit precisely in the patient."(Atala). This further proves that this

process is not simply a theory or mockup, but is a process that not only has happened, but was

successful. According to Geoffrey Crowther at The Economist in an article about this

technology stated that for the public the first transplantable tissues are expected to be ready for

use in a few years time. (Crowther).

Many believe that the better solution is simply to make stem cells better, and to increase

the federal funding towards research. However, making stem cells more effective does not get rid

of black market trade. Just like with drugs, the legalization to make it more attainable doesnt

mean that violent and potentially dangerous situations may not arise. However, 3D printing

would solve this issue. By making 3d printed organs easy to obtain, cheap, and simple, theres no

reason for anyone to use stem cells, effectively getting rid of it along with the many shady and

unsafe businesses that come with it.

The way we can help this happen is to further support the Dickey Wicker amendment,

which is a piece of law that makes it illegal for the government to spend money in researching

stem cells. Put into shorter words by Hank Greely, a professor of law at Stanford, The

amendment prohibits NIH from funding research in which a human embryo or embryos are

destroyed, discarded, or knowingly subjected to risk of injury or death greater than that allowed

for research on fetuses. (Greenly). If we can keep this piece of legislation in the books, newer
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medical technology such as 3D printing will have a better chance to become the staple in medical

treatment, and make health more accessible to the masses.

Citations

Can Stem Cells Cause and Cure Cancer? Can Stem Cells Cause and Cure Cancer?, Texas

A&M University Health Science Center, 21 Dec. 2015, vitalrecord.tamhsc.edu/can-stem-

cells-cause-and-cure-cancer/. Accessed 8 May 2017.

Greely, Hank. A Good Day for Embryonic Stem Cell Research; A Good Day for the Law.

Dickey-Wicker Amendment | ACS, American Constitution Society for Law and Policy, 3

May 2011, www.acslaw.org/acsblog/all/dickey-wicker-amendment. Accessed 8 May

2017.

Neurohr, John. "Embryonic Stem Cell Research by the Numbers." Center for American

Progress. N.p., 17 Apr. 2007. Web. 14 May 2017.

https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/general/news/2007/04/17/2887/embryonic-stem-cell-

research-by-the-numbers/

Lo, Bernard, and Lindsay Parham. Ethical Issues in Stem Cell Research. Endocrine Reviews,

The Endocrine Society, May 2009, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2726839/.

Accessed 8 May 2017.

Crowther, Geoffry. "Printed Human Body Parts Could Soon Be Available for Transplant." The

Economist. The Economist Newspaper, 28 Jan. 2017. Web. 14 May 2017.

http://www.economist.com/news/science-and-technology/21715638-how-build-organs-scratch

Gallagher, James. "Doctors 3D-print 'living' Body Parts." BBC News. BBC, 16 Feb. 2016. Web.

14 May 2017.

http://www.bbc.com/news/health-35581454

Butts, Charlie. "Embryonic Stem Cells Sold on Black Market for Plastic

Surgery."OneNewsNow.com. American Family News Network, 22 May 2015. Web. 14

May 2017.

https://www.onenewsnow.com/pro-life/2015/05/22/embryonic-stem-cells-sold-on-black-market-

for-plastic-surgery

Freed, Curt R. "Transplantation of Embryonic Dopamine Neurons for Severe Parkinson's

Disease NEJM." New England Journal of Medicine. Massachusetts Medical Society, 8

Mar. 2001. Web. 14 May 2017.

http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJM200103083441002
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NIH Stem Cell Information Home Page. In Stem Cell Information [World Wide Web site].

Bethesda, MD: National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human

Services, 2016 [cited May 14, 2017] Available at < //stemcells.nih.gov/info/faqs.htm>

The Bible. New International Version (NIV). Psalm 139:13-14.