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What are stem cells?

“STEM CELL THERAPIES…USE CELLS DOING WHAT CELLS NORMALLY DO TO STIMULATE THE BODY TO DO WHAT IT NORMALL Y DOES.” Forbes, October 2009

Stem cells are also referred to as master cells or unspecialized cells. They can develop into many different cell types in the body. They serve as an internal repair system, mainly through division and communication with other cells in the body. When a stem cell divides and differentiates, the new cells can become more specialized cells, such as muscle cells, red blood cells or neurons.

There are two feature properties of stem cells:

1. Self-renewal: the ability to go through numerous cycles of cell division while maintaining the undifferentiated state.

2. Potency: the capacity to differentiate into specialized cell types

As we age, our body slows down in the production of these stem cells, thus slowing down the repair and maintenance of our tissues and organs. The idea behind stem cell therapy is to cure diseases by transplanting stem cells into the patient, where they can grow new, specialized cells to replace those which are damaged or defective.

Sources of Stem Cells

Cells which are from a donor are referred to as allogeneic, whereas cells from the patient himself are called autologous.