Stem Cell Therapy
Applied Science: BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma, topic 5.1.4
Using Stem Cells
Stem cells are unspecialised cells. The cells can specialise into any type of cell. This makes stem cells very useful for treating disease.
Sources
- Stem cells can be taken from three main sources -
- Adult stem cells (taken from adult body tissues).
- Embryonic stem cells (taken from embryos).
- Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS).
Benefits
- There are many benefits to using stem cells in disease.
- Stem cells can be used to reduce preventable deaths.
- E.g. Stem cells could be used to grow organs for organ transplants to reduce wait times for transplants.
- Stem cells can be used to treat conditions that decrease the quality of life.
- E.g. Stem cells could be used to replace the damaged cells in the spinal cord that cause paralysis.
Disadvantages
- There are some disadvantages to using stem cells.
- Obtaining stem cells from embryos is a controversial issue for ethical reasons.
- Some people believe using human embryos as source of stem cells is depriving an embryo of life.
Treating Disease
Stem cells represent a huge interest in scientific research due to their potential in medical therapies. They are already used for:
Bone marrow transplants
- Bone marrow transplants are used to treat blood and immune disorders.
- Bone marrow contains multipotent stem cells that can produce all types of blood cell.
Drug research
- Stem cells are used to grow artificial tissues.
- Drugs can be tested on these artificial tissues before being tested on humans.
Developmental biology
- Stem cells can be used to learn more about how an embryo develops and how organs are formed.
- Learning about developmental biology can help improve medicine by informing us why organs fail or have abnormalities.
Potential future research
- Stem cells can be used to produce new organs or tissue for transplants.
- Stem cells can also be used to treat irreversible diseases (e.g. diabetes or paralysis).
- Stem cells could be injected at the site of the disorder or problem and encouraged to differentiate into the required specialised cell.
Test yourself on Stem Cell Therapy
What makes stem cells useful for treating disease?
What are the benefits of using stem cells in disease?
Which of these statements about the benefits of using stem cells are true?
Which of the following statements about treating disease are true?
What is the role of stem cells in potential future research?