Medical advancements seem to be introduced almost daily. With ever improving technology, it appears as if advancement is unstoppable. However, with technological advancement comes the need for change in both procedures and treatment of diseases, such as we see with the case of David Fidyka. In Turkey, 2010, David was taking a stroll when he was brutally attacked, suffering stab wounds to his chest and back; paralyzing him from the chest down. David was given an inkling of hope when researches came to him with an extremely controversial and experimental treatment that would potentially allow him to walk again. The researchers proposed some of their lab-proven, stem cell therapy. This therapy included injecting embryonic stem cells directly into the stab wounds, where the break in the nerve cells occurred. A few months into the treatments, David showed small signs of improvement such as regaining touch sensation in specific locations on his lower body. After 3 years of the stem cell treatments and rigorous physical therapy, David took his first steps with the assistance of an exo-skeleton. Continuations of this treatment has led to David gaining more and more movement and sensation in his lower body. 

It is my personal belief that embryonic stem cell treatments are one of the largest breakthroughs in medical history. Humans can and do suffer from severely debilitating diseases that have the potential to be completely and totally curable. Stem cell research   provides hope for millions of people who have debilitating diseases such as Parkinson’s, Diabetes, Heart disease, Autism, Paralysis, Sickle Cell Anemia, and many more. It is vital for the community to support and fund the continuation of research and treatments using embryonic stem cells. Through my research, I have learned an extensive amount of information that has solidified my position that the continuation of the highly controversial embryonic stem cell research and treatments can only be good not only for the future of medicine but also the future of the entire human race. Case Studies such as the one with David Fidyka as well as the one you will read with Allison Thurman, along with lab research performed over the past 10 or so years has shown huge progress, and potential for the future of medicine and the human race. 

 Much confusion exists around what exactly stem cells are, and how in the world they could possibly treat previously chronic and lethal diseases so effectively. For basic knowledge, there are two main types of stem cells; adult stem cells and embryonic stem cells. Embryonic stem cells are derived from a human egg that was planted in-vitro (in the fallopian tubes), and donated to science by a consenting and educated donor. Embryonic stem cells are NEVER from eggs that have been fertilized by sexual intercourse inside a woman’s body. All eggs that produce the embryonic stem cells have been pre-fertilized and planted inside a consenting donor (NIH, 2016). Current research has supported the theory that embryonic stem cells have the capability of being programed to most of the body’s cells, if not all of the cells. Embryonic stem cells are the most basic building block of the human body, as they are the first cells to emerge from the human egg. These few cells that emerge are the building are the cells that develop into the heart, lungs, brain, and nervous system. Using these basic generic cells, the human fetus develops and the embryonic stem cells take over and begin to create the whole body. The embryonic stem cells usefulness is a direct result of their being pluripotent, meaning they can be instructed using DNA code into forming any type of cell, provided we know the location of the code for each specific tissue inside the DNA chain (NIH). 

Adult stem cells or commonly referred to somatic cells are undifferentiated cells that can be found in the human body mixed with differentiated cells (cells that already serve a purpose/ are a specific tissue), and are used for thing such as basic reparations of skin from lacerations, repairing basic internal injuries, replacing dead cells in things like the skin, and becoming red blood cells. I will refer to adult stem cells as somatic for the rest of this paper. Adult stem cells are not completely useless for the applications in which researchers are using embryonic stem cells for now, being used for things like bone marrow transplantation. In a perfect world, it would be nice to maybe remove a few thousand cells from the body and just replicate them until there was an abundant supply of adult stem cells, however lab tests conducted by the National Institute of Health have shown that somatic cells can only reproduce a very limited number of times (NIH).  

Allison Thurman, 2, a cerebral palsy patient is another case in which embryonic stem cells have vastly improved the quality of life for them. When Allison was born, her mother decided it was a good idea capturing and storing the blood from Allison’s umbilical cord. This blood has been found to contain a very large quantity of undedicated embryonic stem cells. As Allison began to grow up, she was not sitting the important developmental mile stones such as being able to sit up at 9 months, leading to her diagnosis of cerebral palsy. Fortunately, her family was able to get her into a very exclusive experimental study being conducted at Georgia Health Sciences Academy, in which 6 children with cerebral palsy were transfused with their umbilical cord blood, hopeful for continued the growth of their brains. The target of the study was to see whether the transfusion of the umbilical cord blood would trigger the expedited growth of the affected portions of the brain, thus causing fewer symptoms and initiating better development for the children. As if it were a miracle, Allison’s symptoms seemed to “vanish” and even graduated from speech therapy after a month, and by 4 years of age she was testing far higher than her age level (Corwin).

As seen in the case studies from previously, results are not far-fetched, and have already been implemented into real life applications. However, the continuation of research into embryonic stem cells is very limited due to conflict and misconceptions of the morality of using cells from embryos. Groups such as the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops have spoken out against the use of embryos for research and experimental treatment of patients, while groups such as the American Academy of Pediatrics have condemned the collection and storage of umbilical cord blood, for the use of the child later in life (Corwin). The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops argue the use of embryonic stem cells is directly against the bible, and by using the stem cells from an embryo the researchers are ending the life of a human being. Not only is condemnation a hold up for the research and treatment using embryonic stem cells, but there is legal trouble as well. Laboratories that use embryos for the purpose of harvesting the stem cells must only use the embryos resulting from in-vitro fertilization until they are two weeks of age, then dispose of them. This limit only allows for a relatively small number of cells to be harvested from a single embryo. This law however may be the single law that serves as the truce between sides of the morality battle as the human fetus has its first heart beats at just 22 days old, a common point for most religious and human rights activist’s beliefs as the first sign of life (National Endowment for Human Development). The hope for federal funding of stem cell research is unlikely as the Republican party holds stem cell research on the same pedestal as abortions. They claim to have deeply rooted beliefs that can’t allow for them to advocate for the funding or continuation of stem cell research. In 2001 George Bush said “My position on these issues is shaped by deeply held beliefs… I also believe human life is a sacred gift from our creator.” (A. Park). Following this statement, President Bush banned limited government funding of embryonic stem cells, leaving all funding of any embryonic stem cell research to private funding or none at all. 

Current research has proven to be quite promising, some recent studies have made some amazingly breakthrough discoveries. Per the NIH, 14,593 people die from Parkinson’s disease (NIH). At the Department of Pharmacology and Clinical Pharmacology in New Zealand, two researchers, Rebecca Playne and Bronwen Conner published an incredible discovery on how they could better understand Parkinson’s disease. Using embryonic stem cells the researchers were able to recreate cells that had been affected by the disease in order to better understand how the disease affects the structure and function of nervous tissue. According to the pair, embryonic stem cells were the key to being able to recreate the brain tissue as “somatic cells are sorely lacking” (Playne and Connor). This research is an open door, possibly leading to at the very least more effective treatment of Parkinson’s patients, maybe even leading to a cure; however, without funding, labs and researchers are ill equipped and supplied to be able to perform this level of research. 

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, “610,000 people die of heart disease in the United States every year – that’s 1 in every 4 deaths” (CDC). The lack of donors in the U.S. is a major problem for the people who are in dire need of a heart. Fortunately, there is massive potential for these people who are in need. It is a common goal among many stem cell researchers to be able to grow human organs in a lab, able to function in the human body as replacements. This extremely deadly disease might actually be treatable. Seeing as embryonic stem cells are present in the human body just before the heart begins to pump only 22 days after fertilization, the ability for researchers to clone a patient’s heart and grow it in a lab for transplantation is just a few years away. Organ rejection is a very large problem when it comes to organ transplantation. Often times when the organs come from an organ donor, even though the person is a “match”, the organ is rejected by the patient, resulting in the patient’s immune system attacking the new organ. The ability to clone and grow organs from the DNA and stem cells of the patient will not only fix the issue of demand, but will also allow for the patient to have less risk of the body rejecting the new organ, decreasing the chance the patient will suffer complications from the necessary immunodepressants. 

One major issue with continued research is that when it reaches a certain point, many people believe that people will grow humans for the sole purpose of harvesting their organs. Obviously the harvesting of human organs is extremely immoral and unethical in almost every way, however I do believe that the individual growth of organs from embryonic stem cells is the answer. 

This possibility of organ growth has been proven valid by a team of researchers based out of the Kangwon National University in Cuncheon Korean. The researchers were able to grow liver cell on the backs of rats. Using embryonic stem cells and locating the genetic coding for the liver cells found in the DNA. These liver cells grown showed the ability to store glycogen, produce lipids, and uptake low-density lipoprotines “ (Gratwohl A) (Soldner F) (DW)The porcine ES-derived hepatocyte-like cells highly expressed hepatic markers including albumin and α-fetoprotein, and displayed liver characteristics such as glycogen storage, lipid production, and low-density lipoprotein uptake” (Park, Hussein and Ghim). Research like this gives a lot of hope for the future of medicine and for the future of the human race. This research could directly result in regulations being passed that allows for laboratories to be able to begin to grow livers for transplantation. This discovery will be able to help the 35 million Americans who suffer from liver diseases.

In conclusion, against all odds, embryonic stem cell researchers have appeared to prevail through the scrutiny and set-backs that have held them back in the past, to make some amazingly breakthrough discoveries. Researchers have barely even scratched the surface of the field yet we are already growing liver cells. The field hosts many opportunities that could potentially save millions of lives with the support of government funding. Cases such as the one with David Fidyka and Allison Thurman’s miracle cases don’t just have to be miracles. These stories that give hope could be the future for the millions of people who suffer from severely debilitating and chronic diseases that ruin their quality of life. With a record of accomplishment (Goldstein), such as the one we’ve seen with embryonic stem cells in small window of opportunity it has had to shine, I believe that more people should recognize the true potential and fully support embryonic stem cell research and treatment in the coming years. This research could be the answer for so many lost.

 