Stem Cell Therapies Not Risk Free
Every medical treatment has some risk associated with it, even those which are clearly established and undoubtedly efficacious. This includes adult/umbilical cord blood therapies, such as using bone marrow to treat leukemia. Case in point: World famous musher Susan Butcher died recently of complications of a bone marrow transplant.
It is important to keep in mind as we discuss the advances being made in adult/umbilical cord blood experimental therapies, that these potential avenues of treatment--if they become generally available--will not be risk free. (The same would clearly be true of ESC therapies.) Even the most innocuous therapies can cause harm. The primary issue in making an informed choice about whether to accept a medical treatment is a weighing and balancing of hoped for benefits against potential costs. Stem cell therapies--no matter what their source--are, and will be, no different.
posted by Wesley J. Smith @ 2:56 PM
2 Comments
2 Comments:
Carlos: It isn't an engineering problem. Let me give you an example: I injured my knee several years ago while skiing. I snapped a tendon. The doctor told me that he could repair it. It would take 1 1/2 years to recover and my knee would be about 70% of what it used to be. Or, I could give up skiing and other sports that required lateral movement, and be fine with little pain as long as I was careful with lateral movement.
I chose to give up skiing. I didn't think the risk of surgery, including anesthesia and pain, was worth continuing skiing, even though I loved the sport. I now hike and walk instead of ski.
Similarly, my mom's hip was very bad for several years. When she was limping slightly, she did not believe the risk and pain she faced was worth the hip replacement. But when she got to the point that she could barely hobble 100 yards, she decided on the surgery. And it worked. But some people die during a hip replacement.
It isn't an exact science. It's not even measurable in a precise way. People hear the potential risks and the potential benefits, and then decide whether to go ahead or not. It is called informed consent.
somtimes you just need to do it
i have allready had embryonic cell surgery in my neck for paralysis
it didnt do much good, but it didnt do any harm either, not yet anyway.
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