Ethical Issues in Stem Cell Research and Treatment

Introduction: With the advancement of technology, significant success has been made in the field of stem cells. Due to two properties of stem cells, unlimited proliferation and conversion to different types of body cells, can be used in repairing damaged tissues and perhaps for making human organs in the future. The most important use of stem cells is cell therapy. Due to widespread use of stem cells, there are many ethical challenges to these cells in the fields of religion, ethics and politics. Ethical and religious controversial questions arise when human embryos and tissues are used to advance research and treatment. There are two main tasks in using human embryonic stem cells: Respect for human life and reduction of suffering in man. Embryo production, stem cell extraction, and subsequent destruction only to further research and therapeutic approaches have prompted various countries to adopt laws and regulations on the use of embryonic stem cells.Description: For editing this article, mainly researches were done in Pubmed and Google scholar with such topics as Ethical issue of stem cell, SCNT, IVF and so on. Most of the searched articles were from the last ten years.Discussion and Conclusion: In the present article, while referring to basic concepts and applications, mainly the ethical issues related to the use of stem cells in research and the legal status of this case in different countries are reviewed. While Iran is one of the first Muslim countries to produce embryonic stem cells in stem cell research and its therapeutic application, its activities are based on established guidelines. While there is a need to systematic laws to be adopted by parliament in this country.

کلیدواژه ها:

Stem Cells ، Cell Therapy ، Ethical Issues