Adult stem cell research is also more productive than embryonic stem cell reserach. Look at everything that adult stem cells have done. This list in from the IL Right to Life website:
- Spinal cord injury repair (using stem cells from nasal and sinus regions)
- Complete reversal of juvenile diabetes in mice using adult spleen cells, with Harvard now preparing for human patient trials using spleen cells
- Crohn’s Disease put into remission (using patient’s blood stem cells)
- Lupus put into remission (using stem cells from patient’s bloodstream)
- Parkinson’s disease put into remission (using patient’s brain stem cells)
- Repair heart muscle in cases of congestive heart failure (using stem cells from bone marrow)
- Repair heart attack damage (using the patient’s own blood stem cells)
- Restore bone marrow in cancer patients (using stem cells from umbilical cord blood)
- Restore weak heart muscles (using immature skeletal muscle cells)
- Put leukemia into remission (using umbilical cord blood)
- Heal bone fractures (using bone marrow cells)
- Restore a blind man’s sight (using an ocular surface stem-cell transplant & a cornea transplant)
- Recovery from a stroke (using stem cells from bone marrow)
- Treat urinary incontinence (using under arm muscle stem cells)
- Reverse severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) (using genetically modified adult stem cells)
- Restore blood circulation in legs (using bone marrow stem cells)
- Treat sickle-cell anemia (using stem cells from unbilical cord blood)
4 comment(s):
I cannot agree more with your analysis of adult stem cell research. I am a Catholic man in St. Louis, MO, USA. We have a strong Catholic presence in this community. Check out my blog sometime....tomsboomertimes....Just the rambling mind of a 56 year old guy trying to get along.
Take care....Tom
Ahh yes, Moneybags but you miss the point. Without the concentration on embryonic stem cell research you take away a percieved justification for treating embryos-and by extension the fetus as disposable tissue to be use at the whim of researchers in order to "improve" our quality of life. If the unborn can be neatly inserted into the role of the lab rat, then it's identity of human life can be easily and conveniantly dimissed.
Destoying life to improve the species-now where have we heard that before? (Hint:he had a funny mustache)
Mike
Let me state that I am also morally opposed to destroying a human embryo for an reasons. This post, however, didn't express those opinions because I merely wanted to state the successes with the research. It was in no way a complete look at the large issue of stem cell research.
The Republicans are abandoning ship on this issue so it is going to very difficult to stop this snowball from rolling downhill.
Mike
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