Stem Cells Replacing Damaged Tissue

Stem cells are unspecialized cells that have the ability to divide and make cells that serve specialised functions in our bodies.
Damaged tissue in organs cannot regenerate because some organs, like the heart, are composed of cells that can’t divide and reproduce themselves.
Stem cells can be used to replace these damaged cells and aid in healing.
Examples of how stem cells can replace damaged tissue include healing heart tissue after a heart attack, replacing skin cells after serious burns, or restoring blood cells in patients undergoing chemotherapy.
Stem cells have the potential to develop into many different types of cell in the body during early life and growth. This is why they are vital in the healing process.
In tissues such as bone marrow, muscle, and brain, discrete populations of adult stem cells generate replacements for cells that are lost through normal wear and tear, injury, or disease.
The process by which stem cells replace damaged tissue is called differentiation. This is when a less specialised cell becomes a more specialised cell type, such as a heart cell, a skin cell, or a red blood cell.
However, the use of stem cells in medicine is not without controversy. There are ethical concerns about the source of embryonic stem cells and potential misuse of this new technology.
In order to effectively replace damaged tissue with stem cells, the right type of stem cell must be used. Embryonic stem cells, for instance, can become all cell types of the body but they are not readily available. Adult stem cells on the other hand, are present in the body but have a limited ability to differentiate into different cell types.
Current research is focusing on increasing the capacity of adult stem cells to differentiate. By doing so, they could be used more widely in medicine and this would resolve the ethical issues associated with using embryonic stem cells.
Some therapies, such as bone marrow transplantation, already make use of stem cells and their potential for regeneration of damaged tissues, while further research into this field aims to find ways to cure certain diseases using stem cells.
There are certain risks associated with stem cell therapy. These include: overpopulation of cells leading to a tumour, the body rejecting the stem cells, infection, and side effects from the procedure.