What is your opinion on embryonic stem cell research?

Are you thinking about whether or not you should contact a local cord blood bank?

The thought of cord blood banking has seen an increased acceptance in the past ten years. At the moment people are giving it serious thought to bank their infant’s cord blood. In the past, the umbilical cord used to be thrown away after the child was finally born, however with expanding recognition of how helpful the blood of the umbilical cord is, the medical professionals have now begun to store the blood of the umbilical cord in cord blood banks.

After a good deal of medical research has been done on what can be done with the umbilical cord researchers have found that it is very beneficial to store the umbilical cord in a cord blood bank. The blood of the umbilical cord is exceedingly useful in the treatment of different diseases associated with the immune system and also other blood related disorders which people suffer with. Until the mid 1990s the umbilical blood was never stored in a cord blood bank; however after the mid 1990s Scientists have began to appreciate the magnitude of umbilical blood and are finally circulating knowledge of the importance of storing umbilical blood in a cord blood bank.

The developing importance of the Cord blood bank

The basic reason why people are now thinking about using a cord blood bank is because the umbilical blood is considered to be so precious. This is due to the fact that it carries high amount of hematopoietic stem cells and can be stored in the cord blood banks safely for years. The importance of having a large amount of hematopoietic stem cells is that this precise type of blood is capable of generating new white blood cells and red blood cells. The model behind the use of cord blood is similar to that of bone marrow transplants which have been in practice for a long time. However unlike the bone marrow which has to be matched perfectly, the utilization of the umbilical blood does not involve such a perfect match.

There are much higher options for treating an ailment with the use of umbilical blood than there are with the bone marrow transplants since the likelihood of a patient’s body rejecting the umbilical blood are much less in comparison to his odds of rejecting the bone marrow.

The prolonged stem cell research shows that there are approximately 70 diseases that can be cured with the use of the umbilical cord blood. It is for this reason that more people are finally starting to gather their baby’s umbilical cord blood in a local cord blood bank. The cord blood is not only useful to the child whose umbilical cord blood is saved, but this blood can also be used by the family members of the children as well. The storing of umbilical blood is important because research has proved that the use of the umbilical blood can be of assistance in curing cancer, damaged internal organs and even some blood disorders, which is one of the major reasons why a lot of people are choosing to utilize a cord blood bank service.

Anyone who wishes to have their baby’s umbilical blood stored really need to choose a cord blood bank well before the delivery of your infant because not all hospitals are equipped collect and convey the umbilical blood to the cord blood bank. As a result you will have to to choose the cord blood bank and inform your doctor almost 2 months in advance so that you can rationalize the course of paperwork and preparation for the collection and storage of your baby’s umbilical cord blood to the cord blood bank.

random person asked:


I believe that this research’s potential for cures for outweighs the negative. Everyone says, “oh we shouldn’t kill embryos and other methods work fine.” First of all, many embryos are discarded today that could be used to find cures for various dieseases. Also, embryonic stem cells are the most malleable form of stem cells, so they are the easiest kind to work with and have more potential. I think the government should fund stem cell research. What do you think?
The negatives are the ethics of it. Some people believe that using embryos for this purpose is wrong.

Filed under Stem Cell by on #

Comments on What is your opinion on embryonic stem cell research?

October 22, 2009

The Instigator @ 7:55 pm #

Didn’t know there were negatives.

October 24, 2009

Teddy's Mom @ 3:47 pm #

I understand the good points but cannot get past the moral objections. I’d be upset with federal funding.

October 25, 2009

damlovash @ 11:20 am #

I think that anyone who is against stem cell research is an uninformed idiot reacting from an unfounded, religiously-motivated stance of stupidity.

October 26, 2009

maxmom @ 9:53 am #

I am all for it and for gov’t funding of it.

The argument that it takes killing babies to make stem cells is ludicrous and just plain ignorant.

Where is all the outrage when millions of embryos are destroyed every year because the are not needed/wanted for in vitro fertilization?

theseeker4 @ 7:16 pm #

It is also a fact that the only debate is whether federal dollars should be spent on it. There are very few embryonic stem cell investors in the private sector compared to those investing in adult stem cells for one very important reason: Adult stem cell research has produced a multitude of treatment and cures for various diseases, while embryonic stem cells have not produced any. Remember, this is NOT because there is a ban on embryonic stem cell research, because there is no such ban. The controversy surrounding the federal government and embryonic stem cell research is whether the government should pay for it.

October 27, 2009

rrtzac @ 9:44 pm #

I’m against the potential to harvest from embryos.

But if we were all given the option of harvesting cells from the cord that goes from mum to baby (sorry can’t remember what it’s called) then the issue would be null and void, because the same stem cells are found there.

If I ever have any more kids i will be requesting that the doc’s take some blood from there and I will have it stored for my child.

October 28, 2009

Ian M @ 9:30 am #

It’s just an attempt to prove Darwin wrong.

Selectivity Rules.

I’m with Darwin on this one.

Ian M