Embryonic Stem Cell Research- to fund, or not to fund?

Imagine a world, where no one, not a single human being has to live like the living dead, where not a single person has to suffer from the effects of mutilating diseases such as diabetes. Such a world may seem other-worldly, yet such a world is at our doorstep. The key to this world is the future of embryonic stem cell research.

Stem cells are actually undifferentiated cells that can be turned into nearly any kind of cell. This is particularly useful, because they can be made into certain cells that don’t replicate, such as nerve cells. Embryonic stem cells are stem cells from the embryo, and what makes them the most prized is the fact that these stem cells are the most available of the lot.

There is dissatisfaction among people about the research into this area. The main reason is because people think that the green signal for this research would mean destroying thousands of otherwise perfect waiting-to-be-babies, by killing frozen embryos in laboratories worldwide. This is morally wrong, they say. But isn’t the golden-goal of morals geared towards the betterment of humankind? So would not impeding such betterment be simply ungodly? Would it be better having a cure for the presently incurables, or to introduce more souls into the world who can be afflicted by the deadly diseases? Embryonic stem cells hold so much potential for the cure of incurable diseases, that would be beneficial both to the future and the present, and hence, such a research would be more ‘correct’ than ‘wrong’.

There are many arguments that support the research. The first reason is that compared to other stem cells, such as adult stem cells, embryonic stem cells can be ‘coaxed’ into many more body cells. Researches from various institutions have supported this, and in fact, because of this versatility, embryonic stem cells have garnered so much attention from the media and the scientific community. So, instead of funding multiple researches that look into solutions that cater to individual body cells, funding embryonic stem cell research would ensure that all everything is catered to in a single go.

Another reason to support funding into this discipline is that compared to current methods, embryonic stem cells would eliminate the need for transplants in the future. This is because, for example, if the heart starts failing, doctors currently would have to take out the failing heart and put in a new one. With embryonic stem cells, the doctor can simply inject ESCs into the failing heart, from where the cells would replicate and replace the failing heart cells, in effect revive the heart. This would in effect make “organ-transplant-lists’ a thing for museums, and deaths due to waiting for an organ something for history books.

Perhaps the biggest reason to support embryonic stem cell research is the promise and potential it holds for millions of people worldwide. There would be no more heart-breaking newspaper articles describing a family divided on whether to keep a brain-dead loved one on life-support or not. No more teary tales of a child-prodigy wasting away in bed because of a degenerative disease. This is because ESCs can morph into both nerve and muscle cells, both body cells which hardly replicate. When a large number of these cells die, the patient is reduced to a vegetable state. ESC can also cure mutilating maladies such as diabetes, by morphing into cells in the liver that had failed and led to the disease. All these miracles can be achieved if the current ESC research proceeds on.

We have the key to step into a better world. Now all what that depends is whether we are willing enough to pour money in to turn the key.