Stem cells hold vast potential to push advancements in healthcare to new levels.
These cells can multiply to make more of themselves. They can also turn into specialized
cells that make up your blood, brain, muscles, bones, and more. Currently, researchers
study them to “learn if these basic building blocks of life can help unlock new medical
treatments. They can also shed light on why certain health conditions and diseases happen.
Because stem cells may be a way to replace diseased or damaged cells, the hope is that
research could one day lead to breakthroughs in treatment for conditions such as: (What Is
Stem Cell Research? 2021)
• Parkinson’s disease
• Alzheimer’s disease
• Spinal cord injuries
• Heart disease
• Diabetes
• Arthritis
Additionally, researchers are looking into the possibility that certain stem cells
might play provide insights that will help drugmakers test the safety and effectiveness of
medications. (What Is Stem Cell Research? 2021)
The uses and potential benefits of stem cell therapies are hard to ignore as stem cell
transplants can be a treatment for treating even the most severe conditions such as:
• Blood disorders like sickle cell anemia
• Autoimmune diseases like multiple sclerosis
These cells can also help replace bone marrow cells destroyed by cancer or cancer
treatments, such as chemotherapy and radiation. (What Is Stem Cell Research? 2021)
Despite the vast potential of stem cells, there are safety risks as well. There have
been cases where stem cell therapy has caused tumor growth or other complications well
after the therapy was completed. According to Dr. Nanette Hache, there are a growing
number of people who “experience serious complications from stem cell transplants.”
“A 2018 analysis reported 35 cases of complications or deaths following unproven
stem cell-based treatments, including loss of vision, infections, cardiovascular
complications, and cancer. While the researchers acknowledged that some of these
problems could have been caused by the implant procedure, others “are likely the direct
result of the yet unproven treatments using stem cells.” (Flaherty, 2019)
So what is the balance? The potential is clearly there for these types of therapy,
and people who are facing these kinds of serious medical issues are willing to risk the
potential adverse effects in any hope of beating their conditions. And if there is demand in
a supply and demand economy there will be people willing to perform the procedures. So
how can we balance the need for these therapies with the ethical dilemma of the nature of
harvesting the needed stem cells?
On the other side of these potential benefits is a fundamental ethical debate. The
most pressing fundamental ethical question is, “Whether it is morally acceptable to pursue
novel therapies for curing illnesses at the expense of destroying an early human embryo?
This debate brings out individual opinions so deeply rooted in basic moral beliefs that
developing a definitive policy acceptable to everyone seems unlikely.” (Volarevic et al.,
2018)
The United States has banned the production of any hESCs, which are stem cells
collected from the pluripotent inner cell mass of preimplantation embryos. These
restrictions have “slowed the progress of hESCs technology and provide a significant
barrier to the development of cell-based clinical therapies. Additionally, the ethical debate
surrounding the harvest of hESCs has made a research on this topic controversial, and as a
result, the majority of studies were focused on animal models.” (Volarevic et al., 2018)
There are two principles in conflict with stem cell research, the first is to prevent or
alleviate the suffering of our fellow man. While the other is to respect the value of human
life. So while “the harvesting and culturing of embryonic stem cells have considerable
potential to bring about remarkable potential benefits in the way of alleviating debilitating
medical conditions.” (Rickard, 2002) So while this potential satisfies the first principle,
the other side is that to do this requires the harvesting of human embryonic stem cells.
This harvesting results in the destruction of the embryo and therefore violates the
second principle. This leaves us at an impasse, as apparently, it is not possible to
simultaneously uphold both of these principles in the case of embryonic stem cell
research. Which principle then should be given precedence? The question comes down to
should we prioritize the research and therefore permit “destructive embryonic stem cell
research because of its remarkable potential benefits? Or should we give more weight to
the second, and prohibit destructive embryonic research because it violates respect for the
value of the embryo as the very beginnings of a possible human life?” (Rickard, 2002)
This is dichotomy is at the core of the issue surrounding stem cell research. How
can we determine if the ethics of harvesting stem cells outweigh the potential benefits that
perfected therapies could bring to society? I’m not certain that is a question that can be
answered in this discussion board, the nature of ethics is subjective and shifts depending
on if you are the one who needs stem cell therapy to potentially save your life or the life of
a loved one. My opinion based on what I have read is that much more research needs to
be done, and it clearly will need a lot of oversight but looking at the potential to save lives
or prevent debilitating diseases in exchange for the research I feel that we need to push
forward. a Ignoring the potential benefit seems to be, to me, more unethical than moving
forward with research. Looking at both sides, I believe that there must be a middle ground
that can be reached as to where or how to obtain the stem cells needed for research so that
the ethical concerns surrounding the destruction of the embryo are addressed while
allowing for the further research and development of safe and effective cures.
That being said, we have known about stem cells and have been researching their
potential for the last 30 years with only a few viable treatments. Therefore, it appears that
the middle ground I would like to see is harder to reach than it would appear.
References
Flaherty, B. (2019, July 11). Canada case highlights possible long-term risks of
experimental stem cell therapy. STAT.
https://www.statnews.com/2019/07/11/canada-case-long-term-risks-experimental-
stem-cell-therapy/
Rickard, M. (2002, November 12). Key Ethical Issues in Embryonic Stem Cell Research.
Aph.Gov.Au.
https://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_Departments/Parliament
ary_Library/Publications_Archive/CIB/cib0203/03cib05
What Is Stem Cell Research? (2021, September 21). WebMD. https://www.webmd.com/a-
to-z-guides/stem-cell-research
Volarevic V, Markovic BS, Gazdic M, Volarevic A, Jovicic N, Arsenijevic N, Armstrong
L,
Djonov V, Lako M, Stojkovic M. Ethical and Safety Issues of Stem Cell-Based
Therapy. Int J Med Sci 2018; 15(1):36-45. doi:10.7150/ijms.21666. Available from
https://www.medsci.org/v15p0036.htm
