2010 March | Stem Cell Transplant

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The Benefits of Stem Cell Transplant

Up until a decade ago, haematological diseases like leukemia could not be treated. There was no conceivable way to replace lost tissue or blood. After a number of hits and misses, and of course a few lucky breaks, our medicinal prowess has improved exponentially. Thanks to the wonders of modern science, stem cell transplant is now a common practice available to anyone who needs it. Today, damaged cells affected by chemo or radio therapy from cancer can now be replaced relatively easier. What started out as an experiment on laboratory mice has become one of the world’s best medicinal breakthroughs. Our stem cells are responsible for the production and regeneration of various other cells that die. Unlike regular cells, these actually have an infinite lifespan in the organism. Stem cell transplant is now offered to those who need to re-grow any tissue because of the discovery that these stem cells are responsible for the creation of our organs like the heart, the spine, the brain and various others that we require to function as able-bodied organisms. These cells are found in our bone marrow, more specifically beneath our nose, inside our stomachs and also inside our eye sockets. They not only produce new cells but they are also able to repair anything else in our body that needs repairing. What we basically have here is a renewable source of power we can tap when we need it the most. Stem cell transplant is not limited to just diseases of the blood and bone but also to various other consequences of different diseases like blindness. Making use of this resource has been made into a process that can be repeated as necessary; stem cells that have been harvested can now even be stored into nitrogen containers for future use.

Stem Cell Transplant: A Brief History

Stem cell transplant is a medical process that started with a simple experiment done by scientists on mice. These scientists started culturing stem cells using embryos they extracted from lab rats. The success of the project led to a whole myriad of research that branched on just that one achievement. This was way back in 1981. Since then researchers and scientists have come a long way. They have now successfully learned how to culture human stem cells. This movement was headed by John Gearheart and James Thomson, biologists and important proponents in this branch of medicine. Two decades later, scientists were able to identify various and highly interesting characteristics of stem cells. One of these discoveries would change the medical scene forever. Upon closer inspection by many different investigators, it was discovered that mature stem cells from one kind of tissue was capable of creating cells of a totally different kind. Stem cell transplant was on its way to what it is today. What this means is that tissue from blood could be used to create cells of another kind of tissue type, like nerves. So this researcher, Fred Gage from the Salk Institute for Biological Studies discovered that, contrary to initial assumptions, our brain cells can actually create and re-create new cells after leaving the womb and well into adult life. One more surprising discovery was that even before the isolation of stem cells, a lot of medical practices made use of stem cells to treat diseases! The first successful stem cell transplant was around the late 60’s. This involved the transfusion of healthy bone marrow cells to revive the cells in the patient’s diseased bone marrow that was responsible for producing blood. Today, this kind of procedure is used to treat leukemia, lymphoma and various other cancers and diseases of the bone and blood.