The Trials of Stem Cell Therapy

The New York Times article, “The Trials of Stem Cell Therapy” by Karen Weintraub discusses the progress in stem cell research and the benefit it has on aiding humans’ bodies. The stem cells harvested from an embryo can turn into any of the body’s 200 cell types and live as long as the body does. This enables stem cell therapy to work. For, if someone had a heart disease they could have stem cells injected into their heart and over a couple years it should repair their heart. An example of this working is when stem cells were injected into a man’s heart, who had a weak heart, and in five years the man was able to live the way he used to live, healthily. This research has a huge effect on society because with further advances in stem cell therapy it could cure millions of people with heart disease, blindness, Parkinson’s, H.I.V., diabetes, blood cancers, and spinal cord injuries.

Stem cell therapy already has a major effect on society. As stem cell therapy becomes more advanced and predictable it could easily affect millions of people. Some were cured from their health defects from injecting stem cells into their body part that was weak. This enables the stem cells to morph into the specific cell that is weak to replace the cells causing that particular area to gain strength. Research hopes to advance their knowledge on stem cells so they can be certain on which diseases it can cure. People will be able to rely on stem cell therapy to cure their health issues, which will greatly impact many lives.

Karen Weintraub did an excellent job covering the topic of stem cells. Previous to reading her article I had no knowledge on stem cells. By the end of her article I had a background on stem cells and how they are used for medical benefits. The article was an easy read which made it easier to understand the context. Karen Weintraub provided examples of the stem cell therapy working on humans, this helped me understand the direct use it would have on people. The article also contained many professional opinions, which gave proof behind the research. Some weaknesses about this article are that it could have been more concise. There were a couple paragraphs that were not needed and that did not provide any information or structure. 

Posted for E. Connors