Nicole Stiles
Ms. Manley
English 10 Period 6
13 December 2017
Saving Superman
In an instant, Christopher Reeves went from the actor playing Superman to a paraplegic with a broken neck. After his accident, he never walked again and a needed a respirator to breathe. (Obama qtd. In Davies 10). Yet he didn’t give up, hoping to live to the day when stem cells would help him walk again. During physical therapy, he hung a sign in front of his door that read: “For everyone who thought I couldn’t do it… For everyone who said, ‘It’s impossible.’ See you at the finish line” (Obama qtd. in Davies 10). It’s too late for Christopher Reeves, but not for the rest of the world. Stem cells are now helping men and women like Christopher walk again. What are stem cells? Stem cells are the building blocks of life – they create every type of cell in our body. They are cells that have not yet been differentiated, or assigned, to a job, like a red blood cell or a skin cell. Scientists around the world see tremendous potential in the development of stem cell therapy. Scientists believe stem cell therapies will help cure diabetes, cancer, Alzheimer's, Parkinson’s, heart disease, paralysis, and many, many other diseases (Stem, 3). Stem cell research should be funded because it will save and enhance millions of lives.
Stem cell research, if allowed to develop, will revolutionize medicine and could eradicate many of the deadliest diseases on the planet, including heart disease and leukemia. Stem cells work their magic by replacing old, dying cells with fully functioning new cells. For example, consider a woman who has suffered a heart attack. With stem cell therapy, doctors can take out the tissue stopping blood flow to her heart, and replace her diseased cells with stem cells, which will regrow and become new heart cells. A second example is the science of bone marrow transplants. Bone marrow transplants are an established form of stem cell therapy with high success rates in humans (Lodock 1). Based on this result, as all stem cells serve the same purpose, it is likely that all types of stem cell transplants will succeed. Combined with other types of emerging technologies like personalized healthcare, stem cell therapies can deliver treatments for rare diseases as well – most of which do not attract research today. No longer will disease take away the autonomy of the elderly. No longer will parents have to be helpless in the face of their sick children dying of a genetic disorder they can’t cure. Stem cells will save and prolong the lives of the people we love. So, if the potential for stem cell research is so revolutionary, what’s in the way?
One obstacle is the controversial sourcing of stem cell from embryos. However, many other sources of stem cells exist, such as umbilical cords, fetal tissues, adults, and lab-grown stem cells. All can be used to form new tissues, organs, and bones (Davies 3,6,7). While some may argue that using cells from embryos is unethical, cells do not have consciousness. The people it potentially can save, do. Embryonic stem cells normally are discarded. To utilize an otherwise wasted resource to help save lives is ethical and to be commended. Supporters of stem cell research aren’t trying to play God. Instead, they are focusing on what medicine has always worked to do: save and improve lives.
Not only can stem cells save millions of lives, stem cells will transform the field of drug testing by making the process more efficient. Before drugs are put on the market, they are either rigorously tested on humans or on animals. Millions of animals are subject to painful medical testing. People die and are hospitalized each year over the side effects of poorly designed drugs. However, stem cells have the potential to change that. As mentioned before, stem cells can be grown in a lab. They react in the same way that humans do to testing, so stem cells are revolutionary in that they can replace animals while better sensing the toxicity of drugs (Cressey 1). This is because a drug may be very strong to a mouse, which has a very different set of organs, and size compared to us. With stem cells, there is a common denominator and a smaller margin or error when it comes to testing. In fact, “cells identified a problem that had only been discovered after the drugs had reached the market [and had been consumed by humans] — and after they had been approved by agencies such as the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)” (Cressey 1). Even though stem cells are still in the early stages of testing, they are already catching things that a decades-old institution doesn’t catch. The FDA has trusted to keep our food safe – considering that a still developing form of technology has already found flaws, what else could stem cells find that we are missing. Beyond that point, stem cells have no consciousness, which makes it more ethical to test on stem cells. They also horten the drug testing process, which makes it a more efficient way to save lives. They are a better predictor of drug safety and efficacy. When pharmaceuticals save money, more funding can be applied to fund more stem cell research, further amplifying the benefits.
Earlier this year, when we read Night, we learned about Dr. Mengele, the Nazi “angel of death”. Not only did he determine who worked or got gassed, he conducted experiments on prisoners, especially twins. He mutilated and tortured them, and almost all died (United 1). Opponents to stem cell research often argue that scientists will abuse the resources they are given and create a twisted new world. It is true that each scientific breakthrough brings new risk. However, it also creates new opportunity. Mengele personifies our fear medical evil; we cannot sacrifice millions of lives just we are afraid another Mengele will appear. There are rules and laws in place to prevent controversial testing, and the public is always watchful. Mengele is an exception compared to most doctors. To not pursue such a field with truly life-saving potential is doing a disservice to all of the doctors who have done so much good in the world.
Stem cells will ethically save the lives of people suffering from disease and eliminate inhumane drug testing. Stem cells will reverse damage done to cells and replace the failing ones in our body. Drug testing will be safe, simple, and efficient after they directly tested on cells not animals. Men, women, and children no longer have to suffer in agony, knowing they can live normally, but not have the resources to do so. 26.2 million people every year die from the just the seven leading causes of death (Top 1). Stem cells could eradicate all of them. To not pursue this research is unethical. Stem cell research doesn’t come at the expense of human life. Instead, stem cell therapy will create, extend, and reinvent the quality of human life. Thank you.
Works Cited
Cressey, Daniel. “Stem Cells Take Root in Drug Development.” Nature News, Nature Publishing Group, 24 May 2012, www.nature.com/news/stem-cells-take-root-in-drug-development-1.10713.
Davies, Bryan Thomas. "Stem Cell Laws." Biotechnology: In Context, edited by Brenda Wilmoth Lerner and K. Lee Lerner, Gale, 2012. In Context Series. Student Resources in Context, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/PBXACD111200834/SUIC?u=san00962&xid=7ef2d5cc. Accessed 9 Dec. 2017.
Lodock, Jason. “Pros and Cons of Stem Cell Therapy.” HealthGuidance.org,
www.healthguidance.org/entry/12366/1/Pros-and-Cons-of-Stem-Cell-Therapy.html.
“The Top 10 Causes of Death.” World Health Organization, World Health Organization, Jan.
2017, www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs310/en/.
Stem Cell Research Foundation. "Stem Cells Will Soon Provide Cures for Many Diseases." Stem Cells, edited by Jacqueline Langwith, Greenhaven Press, 2007. Opposing Viewpoints. Opposing Viewpoints in Context, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/EJ3010453206/OVIC?u=san00962&xid=3dd2ba70. Accessed 28 Nov. 2017. Originally published as "Stem Cell Research: A Revolution in Medicine,".
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. “Josef Mengele.” United States Holocaust
Memorial Museum, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10007060#.