Semester Reflection (Words 800)

Action: Donation of organs, tissues and Stem cells

What if it was possible to treat conditions such as heart disease and Parkinson’s disease using techniques that have already been scientifically tested. The importance of donating tissues, organs and stem cells has become an important area of research in the world today. There are numerous diseases that can be solved through the incorporation of the above-mentioned procedures and it is therefore imperative to ensure that there is a widespread awareness of these procedures. The study will primarily aim to highlight the positive impacts that enraging people to donate organs, tissues and stems in the medical research field and thereby contributing to the revolutionizing of the medical field. By revolutionizing the medical field, medical practitioners will find a solution to an array of diseases that had in the past plagued the world (Tuch 714). In the modern world, stem cells are particularly important as it aids in the treatment of many chronic diseases and it is therefore crucial to ensure that a majority of the people around the world, whether in the medical field or outside the realms of the medical world have access to information regarding the various procedures that have been mentioned in this study. The previous research and study largely delved into the various ways through which the medical practitioners or those that are involved in the medical field can call to action in order to increase the awareness of these procedures. In this study however, we will primarily focus on specifically, the positive impact that enraging people to donate organs, tissues, and stem cells will have on the medical research field.

Actions

Growing your own

Stem cells have provided the opportunity to advance the provision of medical care than previously witnessed. Significant advances in research have shown scientific evidence that supports the view that stem cells can assist humanity in overcoming some of its acute medical conditions. However, according to Donate Life American state that “117,000 men, women and children await lifesaving organ transplants. Every 10 minutes another person is added to the national transplant waiting list. 8,000 deaths occur in the U.S. each year because organs are not donated in time” (Donate Life American 2017). Therefore, donating organs, tissues, or stem cell is very important thing which can save several lives and give other people a second change of life.

One of the most exciting avenues that can be ventured into in this research is the use of regenerative medicine. The line of research that should be considered promises to be of great importance since it leverages on the ability of the body to defend and heal at an innate capacity. This procedure particularly looks into the ability of the patient to receive an organ that is bioengineered and thereby not having to depend directly on the donor. In addition, it also aims to use cellular therapies as one of the critical ways of restoring the normal functions. Regenerative medicine is therefore one of the most critical approaches or action that should be used in order to ensure that the above-mentioned procedures are improved and more so in relation to the organ and tissue regeneration, restoration and also the replacement of organs.

One of the examples that elucidate the above point is unraveled through the work done by Dr. Stephen Badylak, who teaches at the institute of Regenerative Medicine at the McGowan institute. This is a program that has been offered at the University of Pittsburg. The team led by Dr. Stephen Badylak is currently working on various methods of liver transplantation.

The first method of liver transplant was conducted some decades ago and there are therefore succinct records that point to the various procedures that have been conducted on liver transplant. It is therefore expected that amongst some of the organs that can be considered for organ engineering, the liver can be used as a template (Verfaillie and Hu 17). The above happens not primarily because of the history but more so because of the potential of the liver to regenerate naturally and therefore providing the best avenue for success.

There are various approaches that are used at the McGowen Institute since they have the primary objective of ensuring that the functional tissues are all restored including all those who activities are pegged on the cells. In addition, there are also some other actions that are targeted by the institution such as the promotion of various bioactive molecules whether based on therapies that target the stem cells or those that are based purely on the cells.

In addition, the institute also has created a good history over the years that are mainly aimed at developing various artificial organs that aid in the assistance of various organs for instance those that aid in cardiac assistance and also those that promote various medical procedures such as the dialysis of the liver.

Organ engineering is however more complicated that many perceive since there are various sectors that are involved as will be underlined below, which is critical in fostering the ‘action’ process that is basis of our study. One of the sectors is the development of an organ through a custom-organ for instance the kidney, the liver and also the heart or the lung. Organ engineering makes it possible for a patient to acquire some of the organs ‘off the shelf’ in case they need one (Paddock 1).

The federal government

The federal government through the body that is mandated to oversee the health of the country should therefore put in place measures that will sensitize the public about some of these initiatives in a way that will make it easier for the people to understand some of the organs that are available (Wu and Wood 4521). In addition, various players in the medical field should also take initiatives to educate the patients and also the entire public in the community about some of these procedures and options in order to augment the knowledge of the public about some of these options.

In addition, federal and state governments can give rebates or discount for all those that agree to donate. Provision of discounts to the donors through monetary incentives for those who register as donors will ultimately encourage more people to become donors and consequently lead to the realization the objective of ensuring that there is a universal availability of organs. The rebates and discounts that are being provided should be popularized through both mass media and social media and consequently increase the access to vital organs all of which will be pivotal in spearheading the success of these medical procedures.

Governments should be aimed at providing the necessary compensation to donors. For instance, the federal and the state governments should provide the donors with credits to food stamps, which can act as a compensatory or appreciation to the various contributions that are being made by donors (Verfaillie and Hu 20). In addition, it will also encourage other people to be active participants in the donation of stem cells, tissues and organs.

In the medical field

Some of the actions that should be taken by the players in the medical field that pertain to the advertisement of the above procedures include but are not limited to the following. The first measure should be to request all the medical institutions to advertise such procedures and measures to their followers in the relevant social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter or other relevant social media sites that attract large amounts of traffic. In addition, the players in the medical sector should further advertise their products through mass media such as through the use of bill boards and also through the use of T.Vs and also Radio. Nonetheless, the medical players should give a high preference to reputable social media and mass media sites in order to create confidence on the part of the public. Using reputable sites that the public easily trusts that the information is valid and reliable will be one of the most profound ways of ensuring that they achieve their objective.

The concept should be based on the disintegration of a biological material that contains three dimensions, and cognizant of the fact that the material is of a scaffold make; then it would not contain any cells inside. The other action should be to sensitize the public that there is no need for immunosuppressant therapies since the cells belong to the patients.

Medical Practitioners

As part of the action, medical practitioners and all those that are involved in the medical field provide the necessary resources that will ensure that the patients and the public are reached. In addition, cognizant of the fact that there are numerous tools, parts, pieces and the know-how on the procedures that are the basis of this study, it is therefore imperative for all the stakeholders to forge together in providing the right combination in order to ensure that there is a successful implementation of all the procedures involved across the world.

Wu and Wood (4520) estimates that for the successful implementation of the above procedures, there are finances that will be required, which are between $10 million to $30 million and there is therefore a need for the federal and the state government to provide these funds in order to ensure that there is a successful implementation of these procedures. The introduction of regenerative medicine is therefore one of the most profound innovations in recent times since it is determinative and also productive and there is therefore a need to ensure that the process becomes successful. It should be backed up by robotic implementation in order to reduce the amount of cost that has bankrupted the world. Since regenerative medicine is restorative, predictive and efficient both ethically, medically and socially, there is an indispensable need to ensure that the federal government, the state governments and all the players that are directly involved in the medical sector are contributing towards the full implementation of these procedures and more particular regenerative medicine as one way of ensuring that it becomes successful.

The other action that should be taken by medical practitioners in order to ensure that there is a successful implementation of the procedures is through bio-printing. The implementation of 3D bio-printing will go a long way in ensuring that the procedures are fully implemented (Wu and Wood 4522). The process of bio-printing is important since it involves the identification of the composition and also the structural elements of the tissue that are being printed and also the creation of various designs that can be used to ensure the successful implementation of the above-mentioned procedures that form the basis of our study. It will therefore be crucial for all the medical players to introduce a bioprocess protocol in way that will make it possible and easier for them to build multi-cellular blocks for building in order to come up with the needed tissues from the cells.

One of the most profound actions that can be taken by mental health institutions in order to avert and circumvent patients from suffering as they are waiting for a transplant is through the development of bio-printed organs across all the major health institutions in order to act as an ‘assist’ organ, which can be implanted and thereby aid the patients as they are waiting for the transplant. Despite of the fact that the bio-printed organ will not fully replace the other organ that is due for a transplant, it will keep the patient in a better state of health as he/she awaits the transplant. This therefore affirms that it is an important action that should be considered by all the stakeholders in the health sector.

The other action should be hospital to provide storages across many health institutions for storing organs that are intended for future use. The increased ability to store organs would improve the inventory and thereby improve the procedures of organ matching. This would consequently improve the life outcome and also the medical outcomes of the recipients. This would consequently ensure that more lives are saved (Wu and Wood 4523). In addition, the outcomes would also improve. Moreover, this would also lead to a faster medical progress while at the same time lowering the costs. The emergency systems of transport would also improve significantly.

Another action that can be taken by health institutions should be to encourage the non-profit making organizations to hold various conferences, workshops and lectures regarding donation in schools in order to sensitize the students about the importance of these procedures and how they can revolutionize the medical sector (Verfaillie and Hu 19). The lectures, conferences and workshops should be able to sensitize the public about the donations and thereby making it possible for those who wish to donate their organs and also those that are in need of organs to access them. This will contribute significantly to the health sector and consequently aid in saving lives.

In conclusion, it is palpable from this study that there are various actions that can be undertaken in order to ensure that there is a successful awareness and implementation of donor programs. Some of the most notable actions from this study that should be undertaken in order to revolutionize the medical sector include the increased awareness by all the main players in the medical field. Another action is to organize conferences, workshops and lectures in schools as one way of increasing the awareness to the students. In addition, the study also affirms the importance of the federal and state governments to fund the awareness and implementation programs in order to ensure that the objectives come to fruition and consequently revolutionize the medical sector by saving lives.

(Words 2280)

References

Tuch EB. 2006. Stem cells; a clinical update. Australian Family Physician 35(9): 705–715.

Paddock, C. (2017, August 14). Specialized stem cells may rejuvenate aged hearts. Medical News Today. Accessed on 2017, August 14. Retrieved from: https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/318940.php

Verfaillie CM, Hu WS. 2005. Culture systems for pluripotent stem cells. J Biosci Bioeng.100(1): 10–25.

Wu DC, Wood KJ. 2007. Embryonic stem cell transplantations: potential applicability in cell-replacement-therapy and regenerative medicine. Front Biosci 12 (8/12): 4517–28.