I have chosen the controversial topic of how to treat diseases (in this case, sickle cell anemia) by using stem cells. Stem cell research has always been a topic of interest to me and after reading an article, I learned that the procedure has developed over time. Stem cell research began by using embryonic stem cells because they are entirely undifferentiated (Tortura and Dickson 2012). Now that research has progressed, scientists can take normal cells from adult patients and use them to cure the “incurable”.  The article I read was about a specific girl named Paizley, who had sickle cell anemia, and frankly, the doctors said she probably wouldn’t live to be 18. Her immune system was attacking the cells vital to her survival. The doctors gave her one risky option: a stem cell transplant. (Health & Medicine, Have We Entered the Stem Cell Era?)

People opposed the procedure at first, because it meant that an embryonic cell would have to be lost in order for the stem cell transplant to be possible. Abortion became an issue, as many felt stem cells meant taking a life in order for another to receive life. Fetal stem cells were only in the very beginning of research, and quickly progressed to umbilical blood and mesenchyme tissues. Also, scientists have created a way to duplicate the embryonic cells from adult stem cells. No embryos involved, and since they come from a person’s own body, the potential for rejection would be eliminated.

Stem cell treatments are already a reality for blood diseases, such as leukemia and sickle cell anemia. However, the procedure is still risky and uncertain, seeing that the immune system could react to stem cells, and the results could be deadly. It’s a matter of deciding, “It is worth the risk?” A lot of the patients I read about who received the transplant successfully, felt better than ever before, and no longer were sick with a disease they had no control over. Paizley received the transplant, made a full recovery, and was able to live a normal life, one she would have never gotten to live had it not been for the stem cell transplant.

Works Cited

Tortora GJ, Derrickson B (2012) Principles of Anatomy and Physiology, 13^th edition. John Wiley and Sons, Inc. Hoboken NJ, USA  Page 23.