Stem cells

• What are cells in early development of an embryo called?

  Stem cells
• What are stem cells?

  Undifferentiated cells that can become any cell
• What does differentiated mean?

  A cell which hasn't become specialised yet
• Where are stem cells obtained?

  In embryos and adult bone marrow
• What happens if cells are removed from an embryo?

  They will differentiate into any cell type called embryonic stem cells
• What can adult stem cells differentiate into?

  Related cell types only, e.g bone marrow cells can differentiate into blood cells and immune system cells but not any others
• How are stem cells used?

  Treat medical conditions and disease
• What medical conditions may use stem cell transplants?

  Type 1 diabetes, multiple sclerosis, spinal cord/ brain injury
• What is the best time to obtain embryonic stem cells?

  5 day old embryo- embryonic stem cells are hard to obtain
• When are bone marrow transplants carried out?

  In cases of blood cancer, e.g leukaemia or when blood cells have been destroyed by e.g chemotherapy
• What are the benefits of the use of stem cells?

  No rejection, no need to find a donor, no need for tissue typing
• What are some clinical issues with using stem cells?

  No guarantee of success, difficult to find a suitable donor, difficult to obtain, risk of contamination of cells
• What are some ethical issues with stem cells?

  A source of embryonic stem cells is unused embryos (from IVF), therapeutic cloning
• What is therapeutic cloning?

  Using technology for medical purposes