By Martha Ward


Mankind always endeavour to improve things and to make things easier and quicker. Major breakthroughs in technology, engineering, space exploration and, of course the medical field have led to advances that can almost be described as miraculous. Advances made in the medical field have resulted in new treatment methods and medication that have utterly conquered diseases that used to be life threatening. Research continues unabated and stem cell research facilities say that they are close to even more astonishing breakthroughs.

Bone marrow transplants have been performed for a number of years, almost exclusively on patients suffering from blood related cancers. These patients receive chemo therapy that kills all blood cells indiscriminately. With the transplants, physicians hope that the growth of new cells will be encouraged in order to replace to dead and damaged blood cells.

A bone marrow transplant is definitely not a cure for cancer, at least not yet, but there is ample evidence that it can add years to the life of desperately ill patients. Research continues to actually use this technology to cure blood related cancers and even other serious life threatening conditions. At this time, however, progress is slow and testing of new findings on human beings is still a few years away.

It is not just a cure for cancer keeping researchers in this field busy. They think that bone marrow transplants will also be used to replaced damaged brain cells. If this is achieved, then patients with Alzheiner and Parkinson, for example, can receive treatment that will reverse the effects of their conditions. Patients with brain damage and spine injuries will also benefit from such transplants. The theory is that new cells will simply replaced damaged ones.

Researchers have also got high hopes that these transplants will prove to be the answer to may different types of heart disease, also because it promotes the growth of new cells. This will be a major breakthrough, because heart disease remains one of the main causes of death everywhere in the world. It is hoped that damaged cells inside the hear will be replaced by new, healthy cells and blood vessels.

The entire idea of bone marrow transplant remains controversial. Opponents of this type of treatment, and there are many of them, say that there is absolutely no proof that it works. One main concern is the fact that the cells to be transplanted are often obtained from the umbilical cords of unborn infants. This is a major source of contention and critics say that the chances of wholesale human abuse is just too great.

Critics, and some of them are eminent in the medical research field, say that proponents of bone marrow transplants are misleading their sponsors, their fellow scientists and the public. They accuse researchers of creating the impression that major breakthroughs are imminent while this is most certainly not the case. These institutes create false hope only in order to raise funds for further research, say the critics.

Dread diseases kill millions of people every year and anything that gives hope is welcomed. Whether the transplant of bone marrow cells will prove to be a medical miracle or not remains to be seen. In the meantime, some cancer patients live longer than expected precisely due to bone marrow transplants. Perhaps a miracle will occur after all.




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