The Catholic Church's Stand on Stem Cell Research

The stem cell research is being supported by many individuals and foundations because of the many uses it could bring science. Potentially, stem cells could be used as a therapy for a variety of diseases and condition. They can be used to replace cells and tissues in the body that have been damaged or diseased in order to restore bodily function.

Christopher Reeve, known for his role as Superman in a series of successful movies, was a known advocate of this research. After an accident in an equestrian tournament, he was paralyzed and used a wheelchair for the rest of his life, until he died in 2004. For this cause, he founded the Christopher Reeve Foundation and co-founded the Reeve-Irvine Foundation. Despite his difficulties caused by his spinal cord injuries, he tried to be an inspiration to many, knowing that he was covered by the media a lot. Reeve's support for the research is because of the possibility of stem cells to be used to grow nerve cells to repair spinal cord injuries and restore function to paralyzed limbs.

For heart attack patients, stem cells might aid in the growth or heart muscle cells. Patients of Parkinson's disease might also benefit as stem cells are seen to possibly help in making brain cells. They might also be used to grow cells to make insulin. This would benefit diabetics would have impaired insulin production.

Stem cells can be used to grow bone marrow or to make blood cells which are genetically altered to resist diseases like HIV. Furthermore, they can be of use for treatment of other diseases like Alzheimer's, renal problems, liver failure, cancer and multiple sclerosis.