Study And Analysis Of Stem Cell Therapy And Its Ethical Consideration

Abstract

The controversy surrounding stem cell research led to an intense debate about ethics. Up until the recent years, the research method mainly focused on Embryonic Stem Cells, which involves taking tissue from an aborted embryo to get proper material to study. This is typically done just days after conception or between the 5th and 9th week. Since then, researchers have moved on to more ethical study methods, such as Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (iPS). iPS is artificially derived from a non-pluripotent cell, such as adult somatic cells. This is probably an important advancement in stem cell research, since it allows researchers to obtain pluripotent stem cells, which are important in research, without the controversial use of embryos. Nowadays stem cell treatment has been spreaded throughout the world. It has also been grown commercially in developed countries. This paper assesses the stem cell treatment as well as its impact in human life. It also examines specific stem cell therapy market that proves far reaching effect in world economy. Though various organizations have made it as a controversial issue the analysis shows that stem cell treatment has brought positive dimension in human society. A discussion has been made about the ethical issues of stem cell research and therapy; which focus how recent biotechnology and biological understandings of development narrow the debate. It is thought that one day it may be the major key to treat various diseases.

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/bioethics.v1i3.9631

Bangladesh Journal of Bioethics 2010; 1(3): 22-34