Can stem cell therapy cure deformities or create a new organ, and if so , on a simplified basis, how so?

Answer 1

Stem cells are able to form any cell in the body.

If one had a deformed limb for example, a new one could be grown...the old oen chopped off and replaced.

With an organ the same principle is applied.

Answer 2

because stem cells can develope into any tissue, it is given an injection which tells it what it needs to produce. You can get a stem cell from the ambilical cord and bone marrow. it can fix a limb that was damaged in an accident, create a heart or kidney that needs to be repaired, it can even helpe parralyzed people walk again. Research is currently being done to cure cancer and diabeties. It is not funded in the United States and there is a huge issue on whether or not it should be legal, because sometimes while doing research on a fetus, it may die, however, if it is funded instead of girls giving up their children for adoption, it could be used for stem cell research....instead of killing a baby, why not save a life?

Answer 3

In theory, stem cells can grow into new organs, but they are unlikely to fix deformities or grow new limbs etc. The best use of them in the near future will probably be growing of pancreas cells to treat diabetes, or as a replacement for bone marrow transplant for leukemias. Nerve cells, which may be used, in theory, to cure paralysis from broken necks and backs etc, will be the most complex, so we will not see them anytime soon, although some researchers disagree.
Stem cells are cells which have not yet "decided" what they will become, and so they may be steered, with the right stimulus, to become different tissue. The name comes from a diagramatic description of cell development which looks like a tree, with the stem then the developing branches and leaves etc. One stem, many branches.

The main areas of concern are the ethics involved in using human embryos as a source of stem cells. The embryo is destroyed to harvest the cells, which are then used for research.
A more ethical source of stem cells, but yielding a lower percentage of cells, is the umbilical cord blood and tissue, which is discarded after the baby is born. Another ethical source with even lower yield of cells are adult blood and tissue.
researchers are divided as to whether killing babies (embryos) is worth the advancement made to save others or if it will be better to concentrate on more ethical sources.