Since an overwhelming number of diseases result from the death of critical cells in the body, millions of Americans may benefit from advances in this field. As a novel treatment, cell replacement therapy could dramatically change the treatment of many diseases and cure many for the first time. Further in the future, stem cells could provide the means to create entire new organs to replace those that fail due to aging or disease. Stem Cells Defined Stem cells are undifferentiated cells capable of producing a wide variety of different cell types. In other words, they are primitive cell types from which you can create a broad array of other cell types.
Stem cells exist in different forms in both the embryo and the adult.
Once removed, they are cultured to produce cell lines that can be grown in the lab. These cells are the pluripotent stem cells that are often discussed in the news and literature. In addition to these embryonic stem cells, there are other stem cells found during other stages of development. Some examples include embryonic germ cells obtained from medically aborted fetuses at weeks 5-11 and cord blood stem cells obtained from umbilical cord. However, even in the grown person there are stem cell populations.