The Ethical Challenges of the Stem Cell Revolution

Book excerpt: Stem cells, particularly pluripotent stem cells, hold significant promise for developing therapies for diseases and disorders for which there are no current treatments and for regenerating human cells, tissues, and possibly even organs. However, to be able to translate stem cell research into therapies, researchers must first address many scientific, ethical, and regulatory hurdles. The need for researchers and sponsors to demonstrate progress and the hopes of patient groups for new therapies have pressured researchers to move quickly into clinical trials and encouraged the opening of clinics offering unproven and unapproved stem cell treatments. This book tells the story of the development of the field, and identifies the ethical issues and challenges stem cell translation raises. It will be of interest to ethicists, scientists, and regulators working in the stem cell field, as well as the general reader following scientific developments.