Introduction

Through Embryonic Stem Cell Research, scientists could eventually alleviate the demand for blood, organ and limb donors by being able to produce new ones as a direct result of the research.  This in turn could possibly give amputees and other transplant patients a natural prosthetic without the need for anti-rejection medication.  This sort of technology would also eventually be used if not already as a treatment for degenerative diseases such as cancers by aiding and promoting redevelopment of healthy tissue commonly referred to as regenerative medicine.  But, like all new technologies Embryonic Stem Cell Research has also come with its fair share of social and political turbulence.

Stem Cells are developmental cells which are found all around the human body and have the potential to develop into any one of up to 220 cell types.  Embryonic Stem Cells have the ability to develop into all 220 cell types making them infinitely more versatile.

So, what does the process involve? Human embryo specimens generally 3-5 days old are sourced from IVF treatment facilities by informed consent of donors, cells are harvested and then "programmed" to become any of the human cell types by placing them in a solution known as a culture medium and incubating them.  In a way, you could think of the process like a sourdough starter that gets fed and spliced to become more loaves of bread but on a much grander scale.

The Human Rights Debate

A large portion of that turbulence stems from there appears no method of synthetically producing these cells, therefore they need to be harvested from a living organism.  This is where human embryos became the focus of scientists attention and pro-life human rights activists in turn raising some serious debates about the social, political, legal, ethical and moral implications surrounding the research as we are destroying a human life in order to potentially save others.

One of the more publicly debated questions is at what point does anything containing human DNA become classified as human or potentially human and therefore covered under international human rights laws such as the right to life? This particular debate also extends to DNA samples, cancerous growths and should go even as far as bodies donated to science as they all contain human DNA.  As you can see, that argument is flawed because to claim something is human purely because of its genetic makeup can be interpreted in a number of ways with the ability to argue both for and against the research on all points raised.

Alternative Techniques

There are other methods also in development including alternative extraction procedures.  One such example is the extraction of only a handful of stem cells and developing a kind of culture farm by splicing, therefore leaving the embryo intact and capable of further development.  This apparently is a very slow and inefficient process and has still failed to appease pro-life human rights movements which is understandable as I myself wouldn't be too pleased with going out on the town one night only to wake up in an ice bath with only a cell phone and an 'IOU' note for company.

Another method worth looking at is Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells, which are mature or adult stem cells that have been treated so they may function in the same manner as Embryonic Stem Cells in terms of developmental capacity.  Short of synthesizing fully artificial cells, this is arguably one of the best options once the theory has been proven and efficient developmental processes implemented.  In a nutshell, stem cells could eventually be harvested from a patient then re-engineered as a treatment, effectively eliminating the need to destroy or modify an embryo.

In Conclusion

While there are a number of ways you could view this topic based on factors like personal opinion, media portrayal, political debate (see Obama's reversal of Bushes US Federal funding law) and the overwhelming amount of evidence and theory available when researched, stem cells - embryonic or otherwise really are a quantum leap forward in modern medicine and may well hold the key to mankind's future.

Yes, I understand the pro-life argument and respect that, but, to describe something a fraction of the size of a pinhead as human purely because it contains Human DNA leaves the door wide open for debate on a range of other topics such as organ donation and testing of chemicals / drugs on human subjects prior to marketing.  These all contain human DNA as well but people still donate their bodies / bodies of loved ones to science which is how we have made so many technical medical breakthroughs in the past and no one has much to say about it.

Finally, the decision to donate anything especially embryos, lies solely with the people directly involved and should really be of no concern to others.  Besides, the obvious benefits of this research and its applications far outweigh the collateral cost.  However, would it not be great to hear one day soon that science has found a way to synthesize these cells to perhaps put the embryo's to better use such as maybe growing them?

References

Embyronic stem cell research: an ethical dilemma. Retrieved August 24, 2011, from http://www.eurostemcell.org/factsheet/embyronic-stem-cell-research-ethical-dilemma

Stem cell research: All viewpoints. Retrieved August 24, 2011, from http://www.religioustolerance.org/res_stem.htm

The Stem Cell Divide. Retrieved August 17, 2011, from http://science.nationalgeographic.com/science/health-and-human-body/human-body/stem-cell-divide/#page=1

Social, Political, and Ethical Implications of Stem Cell Research.  Retrieved September 21, 2011, from http://newsflavor.com/world/usa-canada/social-political-and-ethical-implications-of-stem-cell-research/

Huge Victory for Obama, Stem Cell Research, and America.  Retrieved August 23, 2011, from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/don-c-reed/stem-cell-research-california_b_911364.html

Stem Cell Basics.  Retrieved August 23, 2011, from http://stemcells.nih.gov/info/basics/

Pros and Cons of Stem Cell Research.  Retrieved September 20, 2011, from http://biotech.about.com/od/bioethics/i/issuestemcells_2.htm

Yorkshire charity funds 'ground-breaking' cancer study.  Retrieved August 17, 2011, from http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-york-north-yorkshire-14516200

Stem Cells, Regenerative Medicine, and Tissue Engineering.  Retrieved September 28, 2011, from http://www.fightaging.org/archives/2003/11/stem-cells-regenerative-medicine-and-tissue-engineering.php

Harvesting Embryonic Stem Cells.  Retrieved September 28, 2011, from http://cord-blood-cells.com/harvesting-embryonic-stem-cells.html