For more than two decades now, stem cells have provided both hope to individuals suffering from disease or injury, and controversy to some in the political sphere. Science has advanced to where the ethical debates now are obsolete; as such the controversy around stem cell research and stem cell therapy has abated. Now there is new promise from stem cell therapy that only a few years ago would have seemed like science fiction.
Ethical Concerns
To understand where we are in stem cell therapies, and how the ethical concerns no longer apply, we must first look back at how those controversies developed. We can see the path of how science and policy joined forces to bring stem cells out of shadow of controversy and into life-saving and life-improving therapies.
What are Stem Cells?
Let us begin by answering the question: “What are stem cells?” Stem cells are those cells in the human body that have the potential to develop into different types of cells in the body. There are two types of stem cells: pluripotent and multipotent. Pluripotent can become just about any type of cell in the body while multipotent cells can become only a small number of different cell types in the body.
Most of the controversy began from the fact the first research lines of stem cells came from human embryos. Embryonic stem cells tied the potential for healing from stem cells to the debate on abortion, a debate in which – no matter what side one takes – is a debate on which there is scant middle ground between the sides. Now, however, stem cells can be gleaned from sources that do not involve human embryos.
The President Weighs In
The controversy was addressed by former President George W. Bush in an address given from his ranch in Crawford, Texas just a few days before the nation’s attention was diverted by the tragic events of 9/11. On August 9, 2001, the president gave his speech in which he outlined some of the moral issues that were at the time surrounding stem cell research (Bush, 2001). In that speech, the president limited research to 60 stem cell lines that already had been created. It was a delicate balance and then-President Bush should be commended for his carefully considered decision.
Today, however, those ethical questions are safely in the past. Research has given us new ways to create pluripotent stem cells – those most versatile – that do not involve stem cell lines that do not require an embryo created by in vitro fertilization. Even a decade ago, there were options for gathering stem cells that had gone beyond the need for stem cell lines to be developed from embryos.
The Fight for a Stem Cell Source
In fact, during my time as a state senator in Oklahoma a decade ago, I fought to have the state create a public umbilical cord blood bank. The bill would have allowed Oklahoma parents to collect and bank blood found in the umbilical cord following the birth of a healthy baby. That blood, usually discarded, is rich in stem cells with the potential to cure many life-threatening illnesses.
The measure would have allowed every family to donate their infant’s cord blood without regard to their personal wealth. Also, any Oklahoman needing compatible life-saving cord blood would have access to the bank. Sadly, partisan politics got in the way of doing right by families who could have benefited from a public cord blood bank.
After I left the Oklahoma Legislature in 2010, any momentum toward a public cord blood bank evaporated. Today, according to “Be the Match,” not a single hospital in Oklahoma is a donation site for umbilical cord blood and the life-saving stem cells within it (“Participating hospitals”, n.d.).
My new home state of Texas was and is ahead of Oklahoma in this effort. The Texas Legislature in 2005 approved a $3.5 million expenditure that began their cord blood bank. Today, the Texas Cord Blood Bank is part of the South Texas Blood & Tissue Center and has been affiliated with GenCure since 2014.
While the Texas effort was a good start, there are only nine – yes, nine – hospitals in Texas where families can have their umbilical cord blood collected, and four of those are in San Antonio. In addition to the GenCure sites, M.D. Anderson Cancer Center also has four additional Texas facilities and one in Michigan with which it collaborates to collect cord blood.
The idea, as I told Time magazine, is that we want people to see this as a public service akin to blood or organ donation…something for which they automatically think to sign up (Kingsbury, 2008). While we as a nation have yet to get to that point, we have made progress to the point where stem cell therapy is a reality for many.
Today and Tomorrow
The present and the future can be found at iSTEMCELL.com, where anyone can find out about stem cells, called the future of regenerative medicine, and believed to provide alternative relief for many symptoms allowing for less need for pain medications and related drugs.
iSTEMCELL provides stem cells harvested from human umbilical membrane, cord tissue, and cord blood creating what is known as the “TRIPLE THREAT” of stem cell therapy. The labs scientists have 12 years of experience processing perinatal birth tissue products into therapeutic agents. And, best of all, there are no ethical concerns like there are with earlier forms of stem cell therapy.
Obviously, stem cell research and stem cell therapy have come a long way in the past two decades since President Bush’s speech to the nation in the summer of 2001. Stem cell research and the stem cell therapy that has come from it is improving lives. All who suffer from degenerative conditions owes it to themselves to see if stem cell therapy can make a difference in their lives. Make the call at 1-855-287-STEM or go to iSTEMCELL.com today to see how stem cell research and stem cell therapy can improve and extend their lives.
References
Bush, G. (2001). President Discusses Stem Cell Research. Retrieved from https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2001/08/20010809-2.html
Kingsbury, K. (2008). Creating a Cord-Blood Lifeline. Time. Retrieved from http://content.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1717283,00.html
Participating hospitals. Retrieved from https://bethematch.org/support-the-cause/donate-cord-blood/how-to-donate-cord-blood/participating-hospitals/
