Academic Review 2024

65 ACADEMIC REVIEW 2024

CLINICAL ISSUES Despite all of the pluripotent properties that make embryonic stem cells so useful, they may also have some negative clinical properties. There is a small chance that the embryonic cells could turn into cancerous tumour cells because of the rapid growth characteristic of the cells. The name of this particular type of tumour is called a teratoma. Embryonic stem cells survive much longer than ordinary cells and this increases the chance that they might accumulate genetic mutations. The cells rapidly divide out of control in the patient’s body, causing them to spread to the surrounding tissues. This can result in the patient’s death if untreated, as the cells can begin growing in key organs, nerves, or blood vessels and interfere with and impair their function (Kooner, 2019). Some may argue that this side effect means treatment is not ethically viable as it results not only in the death of the embryo but potentially the patient that receives them. Scientists are, however, trained in preventative methods to stop tumours forming by identifying if mutations have occurred before they are used in the recipient patient’s body. Another issue that arises from stem cell research is that the patient’s body which has been injected with the stem cells has the potential to reject the new cells. This occurs as the patient’s immune system detects that the antigens on the cells are different. Mismatched cells that do not match the recipient’s body can trigger a reaction to a blood transfusion or transplant rejection (Abbas AK, 2021). This process of immune rejection was shown by a research experiment carried out by researchers at Stanford University School of Medicine. They found that mice mounted an immune response after being injected with human embryonic stem cells. It was found that all the transplanted stem cells, which had the potential to mature into several different types of tissue, were dead within a week (Swaminathan, 2008).

“ The cost of a single stem cell treatment that has been approved for use in the United States is typically about $5,000 for simple procedures to $25,000 or more for complex ones. ” and investigative procedures, fertilised embryos from IVF treatments would be thrown away and would provide no further benefit to the world of science. It is important that donors are informed of all steps that are involved and that donor privacy is always prioritised. Another negative of using embryonic stem cells is the high price of extracting them and using them for treatment. The cost of a single stem cell treatment that has been approved for use in the United States is typically about $5,000 for simple procedures to $25,000 or more for complex ones. To make treatment more affordable, some clinics have found ways to reduce this cost by up to 20% as the procedures are not covered by medical insurance. The high price of the treatment is due to how expensive extracting the stem cells from the embryo is as the cost of harvesting stem cells from an embryo is up to $2,000 per instance (Hildreth, 2022). Stem cell procedures can improve the lives of patients dramatically, resulting in some people arguing that it is worth the money, risks, and ethical implications associated with it. CONCLUSION FOR EMBRYONIC STEM CELL THERAPY Overall, it can be argued that the potential advantages of embryonic stem cell therapy outweigh the ethical issues that surround them. Without the scientists and researchers who carry out the trials