By Henry Robinson


There have been astonishing advances in all the various medical fields. Diseases that used to be seen as a certain death sentence can now be cured or at least managed, adding years to the lives of patients. Research continues unabated and one can only wonder about what the next major breakthrough will be and there can be little doubt that many such breakthroughs are in the pipeline. If stem cell research facilities can be believed, this is the field where mankind will finally conquer many diseases.

Patients have been receiving bone marrow transplants for a number of years. Up to now, however, only patients suffering from leukemia and certain other blood related diseases are considered to be eligible and then only as a very last resort. The blood cells of these patients are destroyed by chemo therapy and surgeons hope to encourage the growth of new and healthy cells through bone marrow transplants.

Many patients think that these transplants can lead to a cure, but this is not the case. The best scenario is that a bone marrow transplant can delay the progress of the disease and give the patient some extra time. Researchers are positive, nevertheless, that transplants will one day become a cure for various types of cancer. Unfortunately, progress along these lines is very slow and positive results are not expected soon.

Many researchers in this field focus on the use of bone marrow transplants to repair damage done to the brain due to injuries and destructive diseases such as Alzheimer and dementia. The idea is that the transplant will cause the growth of new brain cells that will replace the damaged ones. In this way, even extensive damage to the brain and the spinal cord will eventually be repaired.

Heart disease is still one of the three biggest killer diseases in the world. Researchers are working at ways in which to replace damaged heart cells with healthy ones which will grow there after a bone marrow transplant. This is exciting news because the ability to cure many different types of heart disease will benefit millions of people. Research in this area is still in its infancy, however.

Scientists in this field are under constant attack from their critics. They say that these transplants are, in fact, extremely dangerous and that the prognosis of the patient is very poor. There is no clinical evidence that bone marrow transplants actually make a difference. The transplanted cells are often harvested from unborn babies and this says the critics, opens the doors to serious abuse and an unthinkable ethical dilemma.

Critics are also very vocal about the fact that researchers are creating the impression that major breakthroughs are just around the corner. Nothing could be further from the truth, state the critics. Promises of miracle cures and new hope for millions of patients create false expectations and these promises are simply used by scientists to attract ever increasing funding, often at the cost of other, more worthwhile studies.

Nobody knows what marvels the future holds. However, if bone marrow transplants can one day be used to create healthy living cells to replace damaged and destroyed cells, it would be a true medical miracle indeed. Unfortunately, one will have to wait and see.




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