The pros of bringing stem cell research into the medical field (sources cited included)

Essay by SunShnSweetie23High School, 11th gradeA+, October 2006

download word file, 5 pages 4.5

Downloaded 111 times

Imagine that you are a cancer patient waiting to go in one of the last of your chemotherapy treatments at a local hospital. You've had cancer your whole life, and the hospital has pretty much turned into your second home, along with the nurses and doctors being like part of your family. The doctors aren't even sure if your body will be able to make it through the fight this time, though. And the worst part of it is, you know that there could be a much easier, safer way to rid your body of the disease you've been battling your whole life. Even better too, the cure can come right from your own body, specifically, your stem cells. Embryonic stem cell research therapies would be greatly beneficial for the world because of its availability, the cures it can bring, and the simplicity of the procedures compared to common day methods.

The availability of stem cells is innumerable because of the fact that they can be taken from several different places. One excellent location they can be taken is the patient's own body. Scientists have found that a patient's bone marrow is a great source of adult stem cells (Stem Cells Promise New Cures), otherwise known as totipotent cells, because they can turn into virtually almost any cell in the body. Scientists also believe that even a patient with a terminal illness's stem cells can still be used for therapy (Stem Cells).

Another useful way to obtain stem cells is from the millions of unused embryonic stem cells held at pregnancy centers around the country. Every time a woman decides to have an IVF, or In Vitro Fertilization, the pediatrician has her take an egg enhancing medicine so her body creates a multitude of eggs to fertilize. The eggs are...