Menstrual blood has stem cells and harvesting them is wonderful research, right?

Question

http://www.abc.net.au/science/news/health/HealthRepublish_1590861.htm

Answer 1

the purported discovery of such cells in everything from menstrual blood to bone marrow to fat, have suffered from incomplete evidence for their biological versatility, or have proved to be too rare or difficult to isolate to be of practical value.

I find it amusing how many people answering are grossed out by menstrual blood. It's just blood!

Answer 2

If this article is true, and the research is trustworthy, then these scientists have just put an end to harvesting babies for their stem cells! Stem cells could be collected at will with a simple D&C for research, making the entire process sooooooooo much simpler and less expensive. No moral problems there, either!

But, that is a mighty big "IF". Does anybody here remember the Korean Scientist, who supposedly did all these marvelous breakthroughs with stem cells, who turned out to be a fraud? I'm cautious that could be the case again.

This is the first I've heard of stem cells in menstrual tissue, BTW. I've heard of it being collected from afterbirth, another non-moral-problem. It simply wasn't being done because most hospitals don't have the facilities to collect the tissue. Bummer.

Answer 3

I'm not sure I totally believe that. Not that I don't want it to be true, because it could negate the debate on the morality of stem-cell research. It's just that I can't understand where exactly the stem cells are coming from. I mean, menstraul blood is just that- blood. Maybe they mean the cells are from the shed lining of the uterus? Is that possible? I thought you could only get stem cells form cells that had not yet been designated a function in the body. It is worth researching more, but I am still sceptical.

Answer 4

The cells found in minstrel discharge are to primitive for manageable uses. They have not yet differentiated into specific organs - skin, bone, viscera, etc..

Perhaps in the future, science will be able to incubate such delicate structures as these and may then be able to delay their extractions of differentiated blast cells once they appear and reach a stable degree of maturity. But for now, unfortunately, there is nowhere to turn but to the aborted fetus or to tissue taken from living donors.

The work of the researcher in Japan yielded a poor result in terms of usefulness - he got five days worth of life out of cells that differentiated into cardiac muscle - what useful purpose will that serve except to keep trying?

We're still on the "drawing board" with methods that are far more simple and have been in development for decades; don't look to far forward because of this article. It's a baby step in the right direction - but it's a first step that must be followed up by thousands more steps before you could think of it as a method that's "running well."

WWW r u randy? WWW

Answer 5

I think the stem cells in menstrual blood would be pointless to harvest. That's why your body disposes of it. I don't think that kind of research is wonderful. RIGHT, personally I think its gross, but if someone paid me enough I would donate.

Answer 6

Im not sure why all the talk about stemcell research today? I am a Christian and a stem cell recipient, I dont know of any church that condemns the research when it is not taken from aborted babies. (stem cells can be harvested many ways and no one needs to die from it)

Answer 7

You have that bright idea! But wont that make the process of harvesting stem cells so unsanitary? If ever given the chance, will you yourself be a willing subject to the calls of this wonderful research?

Answer 8

That will be much better than getting the stem cells from babies' umbilical cords. Especially since the babies are often just born to become the donor to a family member.Some come from unwanted babies which are aborted and that is wrong. One person's life isn't more important than another.

Answer 9

Interesting, and no, it doesn't matter that it's gross. Gross should NEVER stand in the way of scientific progress. Imagine if you needed heart surgery but no one would do it because it was gross to cut people open. You ever see heart surgery? It's a lot grosser than menstrual blood. I'm incredibly grateful that there's people who don't let gross get in the way of knowledge.

Answer 10

Most pharmocology that has given us "miraculous" cures has had the history of coming from what was initially perceived as having a poisonous affect ..

Now go out into the hut and chant with the others, and come back when you are clean again ...