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1. What are Stem Cells?

 

Stem cells are master cells in the body that can turn into many different types of specialized cells. They have the ability to divide for an indefinite period of time. Other cells cannot do this. All 210 different types of tissue in the human body grow from the stem cells of an embryo, which is a human being from the age of conception through the eighth week of development.

 

Embryos that are created for infertility treatment are often created in excess of the number that is usually needed to achieve a pregnancy. There is a heavy burden and expense in collecting ova from the donor and there is no satisfactory technology for storing eggs. Three to four eggs are implanted during each IVF attempt because three out of four embryos do not survive to grow into a child in utero. Scientists are not sure why. Most fertility specialists consider it unwise to insert more than four eggs during a cycle for fear that in some instances, multiple gestations will result. If too many embryos implant, the mother may have difficulty sustaining her pregnancy. If pregnancy is achieved, many parents abandon their “excess” embryos (their children). Over 400,000 embryos are in storage in the U.S.¹

 

These “excess embryos” have developed in culture to the blastocyst stage and can be thawed so their inner cell mass can be harvested for stem cells. Harvesting the inner cell mass destroys the embryo.

 

For more information: "Stem Cell Basics" at the National Institutes of Health

 

 

There are 3 Types of Stem Cells:²

 

Type of Cell	Definition	Traditional Examples
TOTIPOTENT	Stem cells that can become an entire human being.	Stem cells from a fertilized human egg.
PLURIPOTENT	Stem cells that can develop into any body cell type but can’t become an entire human being.	Stem cells from a seven-day-old embryo, or blastocyst.
MULTIPOTENT	Stem cells that can only differentiate into the same tissue type.	A bone marrow stem cell can differentiate into another type of bone marrow cell, but not into kidney, heart muscle or brain.

Recent research has shown that stem cells from seven day embryos are totipotent, meaning they can become an entire human being. Scientists have also found that bone marrow and other “adult” stem cells can turn into other types of tissue such as heart muscle.

 

 

Life-Threatening Sources of Stem Cells

 

Embryonic Stem Cells (Totipotent)
Harvested from the inner cell mass of the hollow blastocyst, or early embryonic human being, seven to ten days after fertilization. The embryo at this stage may be up to 200 cells in size.³

 

Fetal Stem Cells (Totipotent)
Often taken from the germline tissues that will make up the ovaries or testes of aborted fetuses.⁴

 

 

Life-Honoring Sources of Stem Cells

Umbilical Cord Stem Cells (Pluripotent)
Taken from umbilical cord blood, which contains stem cells similar to those found in the bone marrow of newborns. Many doctors are now recommending these valuable cells be preserved after delivery.⁵

 

Placenta Derived Stem Cells (Pluripotent)
The placenta contains many blood vessels and connects the umbilical cord of an unborn child with the uterine wall, allowing nutrients to pass from mother to baby. Normally it is discarded after birth. Anthrogenesis Corporation recently announced the development of a commercial process that can extract ten times as many stem cells from a placenta as from cord blood.⁶

 

Adult Stem Cells (Pluripotent)
Tissues, like bone marrow, lung, pancreas, brain, breast, fat, skin and even tooth pulp contain stem cells that have been isolated. Bone marrow stem cells have been recognized and used in treatment for over 20 years. Only recently were stem cells found in many other tissues. There may be stem cells in each of the 210 different types of tissue in the human body.

 

 

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