Stem cells helping solve transplant rejection problems
Ever since the inception of time, millions of people have struggled with organ transplants. People suffer and endure loads of pain prior and after surgery; so many scientists have taken it upon themselves to find a cure for their pain. Scientists working with Harvard Apparatus have devised a new technique where stem cells are used to ease the pain of the patients. Before discussing the cure, we must first define stem cells, where they are found, transplant problems and how stem cells will be able to cure this problem. According to many scientists, stem cells are the way foreword.
So what exactly are stem cells? What are their functions? Stem cells are “a class of undifferentiated cells that are able to differentiate into specialized cell types.” This means that these cells are special cells in the body that have no assigned function. They are located in many places such as bone marrow and brain tissue. These cells commonly originate from two different sources: embryos and adult stem cells. This specific type of cell carries out different functions.
The adult stem cells lie dormant within different human tissues. They become activated when they receive a sign from a damaged tissue.” So this particular type of stem cell does not actually have a function until the body needs it to repair a tissue caused by a cut, by replacing the dead cells.
caused by a cut, by replacing the dead cells. These adult stem cells also have different names and differentiate into different cells depending on their location. “Adult stem cells differentiate into adipocytes, when they are placed next to fat, chondrocytes, when placed next to cartilage, osteocyte, when placed next to bone, and fibroblasts, when placed next to fibrous tissue.”
The other type of stem cell is called the embryonic stem cells. During a time in pregnancy called the blastocyst phase, scientists are able to extract stem cells from the placenta of the women, which is close to the baby. The placenta has the stem cells belonging to the child. Sometimes, parents ask doctors to freeze the placenta containing the stem cells, so that if the baby receives an illness, the stem cells could be usable to treat it.
The main issue however is how the stem cells are will be able to help transplant patients.
By: Mahmoud Shehab El-Din