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Should We Replenish Our Organs?

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Should We Replenish Our Organs?
Should we replenish our organs?

From the start of time, humankind has tried to find solutions to live longer and healthier lives. This has lead to great innovations in the field of medicine. One of our most recent quests for this near immortality is related to the field of regenerative medicine. Regenerative medicine is moving towards replacing worn out cell, tissue, and organs in order to restore full functionality. While this may sound very assuring; there are a few complications and concerns associated with the science. So of these concerns are that the field is still very much in the research phase, the human body can respond negatively to cells constructed outside the body, and there are ethical questions concerning extraction of stem …show more content…
The most ideal of these to use are embryonic cells. Extraction of these cells has sparked controversy as the cells are taken from a human embryo between 5 to 7 days old. This effectively kills the embryo which many deem to be the taking of human life as embryos have the potential to become human beings (Lo et al., 2009). There is currently a large unapproved stem cell market in the USA and many injured patients have filed law suits against companies providing stem cell treatment (Horner et al,2018). This rising number in cases has the potential to spark public awareness against such practices and hinder support for the …show more content…
There are also health, demographic, and ethical factors to take into consideration. Our bodies simply may not be adapted to taking in organs which are processed outside the body, and this can have adverse effects. If the cost of an efficient organ replenishment treatment is so high that it only benefits the rich, then the treatment will have minimal effect in a world plagued by poverty. Medicine as a whole should not be looking to extend our lifespans, but rather look to make the current life we have to be of the highest quality. After all a long life lived in misery is just emotional torture.

References:
Lo, Bernard & Parham, Lindsay,2009, Ethical issues in stem cell research
Cole, D., 2013,Repairing and replacing body parts : what’s next?
Ikado,Y., 2006, Challenges in tissue engineering
Horner, C.,Tenenbaum,E.,Master,Z.,2018,Can civil lawsuits stem of direct to consumer marketing of unproven stem cell interventions
Colombo,F.,Sampogna ,G.,Canocozza ,G.,Guraya, SY.,Forgone, A.,Regenerative medicine: historical roots and potential strategies in modern medicine,Journal of microscopy and ultrastructure
Knoepfler lab stem cell blog,2015, how much do stem cell treatments really cost?
Oakley,A., 2013, what is immunodeficiency?
Mao,S & Mooney. J.,2015, regenerative
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