Stem Cell Research Should Not Be Allowed - 1170 Words

I live in a very small community where people come together when hardships arise. The community joins together as one with support and love for each other. Recently, an eight year old boy named Jaylen, who goes to the same elementary school I attended, was diagnosed with Batten Disease. Our community came together in support of â€Å"Jaylen’s Journey†. In honor of Jaylen and to aid his family in covering medical cost, the community held a 5K, sold t-shirts, and created a Facebook page. Batten Disease attacks the nervous system and vision loss occurs. Currently, a cure does not exist for Batten Disease, and without surgery, Jaylen is expected to die before he is 16 years old. The hope of a cure for Jaylen comes through an experimental surgery†¦show more content†¦Due to this characteristic, healthy stem cells can be placed into a human body to replace diseased cells. Doing so, can treat or even cure certain diseases such as cancer or in Jaylen’s case, Batten Disease (â€Å"Stem Cell Basics† N.p). This was demonstrated when Sorrel Mason was diagnosed with a rare form of acute myeloid leukemia at the age of two. Given a thirty percent chance to survive, she received a transplant matching umbilical cord cells with hers, she has since recovered and is now healthy. Her mother, Samantha Mason, said â€Å"her daughter made a full recovery since undergoing the transplant† (Japanese stem cells saved girl’s life† N.p). Another example where the use of stem cells resulted in a cure was in the case of a man whose vision was restored through an eye transplant using a corneal patch grown from adult stem cells. Dr. Mark Daniel, who helped lead the research reported, He had reduced mobility, could not read and could not work, but he has now resumed duties as an accountant, enjoys sight (slightly lower than normal 20/20 acuity) and has increased mobility and quality of life and renewed optimism† (Adult Stem C ell Patch Restores Vision† N.p). Stem cells can also be used to prolong one’s life with the use of drug testing and by growing different diseased cells in a dish to see where the error is occurring. If