By Globe Staff

Most companies in the race to clone human embryos oppose creating entire people, but want to grow human cells and tissues to treat disease and injuries. Cloned embryos contain valuable stem cells that have the ability to turn into any organ in the body. Patients could receive needed organs cloned from their own tissues, eliminating the fear of organ rejection.

Potential applications

Transplant nerve cells to restore movement. Researchers at Johns Hopkins University recently reported preliminary success from cells derived from embryonic stem cells. Stem cells were injected in the spinal fluid of partially paralyzed rats. Three months after the injections, many of the treated rats were able to move their hind limbs and walk.

Transplant healthy stem cells to restore the bone marrow. Chemotherapy and radiation damage or destroy bone marrow, which produces the blood cells needed to carry oxygen, defend against infection, and prevent bleeding. The healthy, transplanted stem cells can restore the bone marrow’s ability to produce the blood cells the patient needs.

Transplant healthy heart muscle cells into the failing heart muscle in order to help it pump blood. Preliminary work in mice and other animals has demonstrated that healthy heart muscle cells transplanted into the heart successfully repopulate the heart tissue with healthy cells.

Transplant pancreas or isolated islet cells to eradicate the need for insulin injections. In the many individuals who suffer from Type I diabetes, the production of insulin by specialized pancreatic cells, called islet cells, is disrupted. Islet cell lines derived from stem cells could be used for diabetes research and, ultimately, for transplantation.