When couples have difficulty conceiving a child by any other means, including artificial insemination, they may decide to try in vitro fertilization. In this process, the woman's eggs may be fertilized in the laboratory; the resulting embryos are then implanted into her uterus. Unused embryos that do not get implanted remain the responsibility of the parents from whose cells they are derived.
These spare embryos remain frozen and stored. With today's tissue-freezing methods, these spare embryos retain their viability for many, many years. The parents can decide to keep them in storage, pass them on to other childless couples who are unable to conceive or donate them for scientific research using stem cells. This is becoming an extremely popular process with couples who find themselves unable to produce their own embryos via in vitro fertilization. The parents of the excess embryos may also ultimately decide to discard them.
Stem cells are undifferentiated cells at an early stage of development. They have the potential to differentiate into other types o f mature cell. This is referred to as pluripotency. Stem cells are becoming increasingly useful as a medical treatment for all sorts of conditions. Because this procedure is open to serious abuse, it is tightly regulated.
Researchers at the University of Utah pioneered the procedure whereby a patient's own stem cells are injected into their left ventricle in an attempt to treat heart failure. At this point, they are called cardiac repair cells. They are derived from the patient's bone marrow and then cultured for just under fortnight, after which they are implanted into the heart. It turns out these cells are much hardier than the original cells that were harvested from the bone marrow.
The first time stem cells were isolated from mice was in 1981; in humans, it was 1998. These cells may arise from spare human embryos that did not need to be implanted. Other places where stem cells come from include peripheral blood, umbilical cords and bone marrow. Other conditions apart from heart failure where stem cells have been used include diabetes, neurological problems and cancer.
Bone marrow is the spongy tissue located deep in the center of some of the larger bones in the body, mostly from the pelvic bone. Harvesting stem cells from this location is extremely painful so the donors are placed under a general anesthetic. A large needle is then placed into the marrow via the hip bone and the cells are harvested.
Typically, peripheral blood is not endowed with a plethora of stem cells. In this case, patients are prepared by giving them hormones called growth factors. This takes place a few days prior to harvesting. The actual collection process may take hours. Newborn blood is also rich in these cells. Some remain in the umbilical cord, which is set aside for future transplantation. To date, human umbilical cord cells have only been transplanted into small adults and children.
Once the couples who have been storing embryos are sure they no longer want any more children, their spare embryos may be donated to other couples, to scientific research or they may be ultimately destroyed.
These spare embryos remain frozen and stored. With today's tissue-freezing methods, these spare embryos retain their viability for many, many years. The parents can decide to keep them in storage, pass them on to other childless couples who are unable to conceive or donate them for scientific research using stem cells. This is becoming an extremely popular process with couples who find themselves unable to produce their own embryos via in vitro fertilization. The parents of the excess embryos may also ultimately decide to discard them.
Stem cells are undifferentiated cells at an early stage of development. They have the potential to differentiate into other types o f mature cell. This is referred to as pluripotency. Stem cells are becoming increasingly useful as a medical treatment for all sorts of conditions. Because this procedure is open to serious abuse, it is tightly regulated.
Researchers at the University of Utah pioneered the procedure whereby a patient's own stem cells are injected into their left ventricle in an attempt to treat heart failure. At this point, they are called cardiac repair cells. They are derived from the patient's bone marrow and then cultured for just under fortnight, after which they are implanted into the heart. It turns out these cells are much hardier than the original cells that were harvested from the bone marrow.
The first time stem cells were isolated from mice was in 1981; in humans, it was 1998. These cells may arise from spare human embryos that did not need to be implanted. Other places where stem cells come from include peripheral blood, umbilical cords and bone marrow. Other conditions apart from heart failure where stem cells have been used include diabetes, neurological problems and cancer.
Bone marrow is the spongy tissue located deep in the center of some of the larger bones in the body, mostly from the pelvic bone. Harvesting stem cells from this location is extremely painful so the donors are placed under a general anesthetic. A large needle is then placed into the marrow via the hip bone and the cells are harvested.
Typically, peripheral blood is not endowed with a plethora of stem cells. In this case, patients are prepared by giving them hormones called growth factors. This takes place a few days prior to harvesting. The actual collection process may take hours. Newborn blood is also rich in these cells. Some remain in the umbilical cord, which is set aside for future transplantation. To date, human umbilical cord cells have only been transplanted into small adults and children.
Once the couples who have been storing embryos are sure they no longer want any more children, their spare embryos may be donated to other couples, to scientific research or they may be ultimately destroyed.
About the Author:
We have great news for couples looking for the latest fertility options. See how unused embryos can help you conceive by reviewing this page at http://www.blessedwithinfertility.com.
0 comments:
Post a Comment