A Question for My Readers
Okay. I'm going to lift my skirt and show off my ignorance here for a minute.Stem Cell research is back in the news and I have a question for my brilliant and intrepid readers. Let me set it up:
So, stem cells are human cells that can become anything, right? And, presumably, this means that they have a full complement of DNA so that they have all of the directions on how to be all that they can be, right?
You can get stem cells from umbilical cord blood, among other sources. This cord blood can be "banked" and preserved for all time. So my question is, doesn't this present the risk of identity theft at a biological level? For example, I am pregnant with a baby who has an umbilical cord, right? This cord contains blood that is rich in said stem cells. These stem cells are full of DNA - mine, the baby's, I'm not sure - and if I "bank" this blood, then don't I run the risk that it could be stolen? They need not even fret over the hard work either, they've already got cells ready to become. I am concerned that this amounts to identity theft at the most basic. Am I wrong?
We can already clone animals and nobody is doing all that much to stop that. Is it such a leap for me to be concerned that somebody could steal my child's biological identity, clone him or her, and then harvest him or her to extend someone else's life or comfort? Am I misunderstanding the facts, or what?
I have no doubt that science could find a way. They are making advances everyday. It would be nice if we could abolish all disease, but this isn't practical. If we were to abolish all disease and extend life expectancy to the outer limits, the world will only know violence. People will start fighting over food. Or is this another case of my pregnancy paranoia?
Will a black market in stem cells develop? How can I protect myself and my child?
So tell me, am I just tilting at windmills?
