Stem cells from placenta?

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I have a diabetic friend with a pretty severe wound on his toe and all the efforts to heal it have not helped, so now he says the doctor wants to try placental stem cells, the way he described it, the doctor applies them to the wound, in hopes it will heal it, Im not sure if these are different from the stem cells that the CC advises against using or if he should avoid these altogether?
 
I am not particularly familiar with the process for gathering placenta specifically…

But there are stem cells that are in no way tied to abortion and as far as I know they are fine.

Placenta I am guessing might be extractable without it??

I would pressume such a fact would be the driving force on its morality.
 
LethalMouse said:
usccb.org/issues-and-action/human-life-and-dignity/stem-cell-research/catholic-support-for-ethically-acceptable-stem-cell-research.cfm

Apparently cord stem cells are okay… I am leaning toward the assumption placenta is probably okay.
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The placenta, like the cord, is not needed after birth and is ordinarily discarded. I didn’t know it could be used for these purposes but it’s amazing if so. There’s no possible harm to baby if the cells are harvested after delivery so I don’t see why it would be morally problematic.
 
pensmama87 said:
The placenta, like the cord, is not needed after birth and is ordinarily discarded. I didn’t know it could be used for these purposes but it’s amazing if so. There’s no possible harm to baby if the cells are harvested after delivery so I don’t see why it would be morally problematic.
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This the link below is to the National Catholic Bioethic Center
They might provide the correct answer
I’m a little suspicious of this treatment as rejection Is typically more prevalent in foreign adult stem cells than your own.

www.ncbcenter.org
 
pensmama87 said:
The placenta, like the cord, is not needed after birth and is ordinarily discarded. I didn’t know it could be used for these purposes but it’s amazing if so. There’s no possible harm to baby if the cells are harvested after delivery so I don’t see why it would be morally problematic.
Click to expand...
This the link below is to the National Catholic Bioethic Center
They might provide the correct answer
I’m a little suspicious of this treatment as rejection Is typically more prevalent in foreign adult stem cells than your own.

www.ncbcenter.org
 
There is no problem with getting stem cells from the placenta. However, I cannot find any approved treatments as described by the OP. There may be an immune system rejection response. He should ask his doctor how this treatment works.

As long as no embryos die in the process, using a placenta is OK.

Ed
 
gus said:
Not if it’s a scam
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Good point.

Before I continue, I must point out that I am not a physician or a biologist, and the following response is not medical advice.

The medical procedure described in the OP seem suspicious to me because stem cells (and most other kinds of cells) from one person will usually be rejected by the another person’s immune system. The stem cells could perhaps survive and grow if the immune system of the recipient is suppressed.

Another question is whether stem cells have a chance of thriving in the wound where the recipient’s own cells are unable to thrive. Sounds dubious to me.
 
Beryllos said:
Good point.

Before I continue, I must point out that I am not a physician or a biologist, and the following response is not medical advice.

The medical procedure described in the OP seem suspicious to me because stem cells (and most other kinds of cells) from one person will usually be rejected by the another person’s immune system. The stem cells could perhaps survive and grow if the immune system of the recipient is suppressed.

Another question is whether stem cells have a chance of thriving in the wound where the recipient’s own cells are unable to thrive. Sounds dubious to me.
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T here is a lot of research and discussion to be found online about this. Here is an article that should answer your questions about rejection and other things. This article is from 2008, so this is not a new area of research.

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2593758/

The placentas are obtained after birth, abortions are not involved. I find this to be a wonderful medical advance.
 
It is a major hospital, (catholic one at that) so I doubt it is a scam, although I guess it could be, the doctor did say this has to be done in the hospital OR, and is very expensive, the way he described it, they just apply the stuff to the wound.

His problem is, this wound is about 9 months old, and just will not heal, mainly due to his diabetes, his blood flow to this toe is not good, but they are not at the point of wanting to remove the toe, doctor has been trying all kinds of treatments, so far, nothing has helped, but wound has not become infected at any point, so thats a good thing in itself.
 
CB_Catholic said:
T here is a lot of research and discussion to be found online about this. Here is an article that should answer your questions about rejection and other things. This article is from 2008, so this is not a new area of research.

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2593758/

The placentas are obtained after birth, abortions are not involved. I find this to be a wonderful medical advance.
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Thanks for the article. I didn’t wish to read the whole thing, but I skipped down to the section on “immunological features of placenta-derived cells.” To summarize it ever so briefly, in pregnancy the placenta inhibits the immune response of the mother’s body toward the fetus, and medical researchers are hoping this property of placental cells will similarly promote their tolerance in clinical applications as the OP describes. Fascinating!
 
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