1. Stem Cells in India Meg Aldridge, Raina Meyer, Hannah Ross Patten, and Presley Sweet

2. Stem Cell Research What are stem cells? Stem cells can develop into many different cell types in the early stages of growth They can renew themselves, which is known as proliferation They have the ability to differentiate into cells with special characteristics and functions Can be used to replace lost or damaged cells

3. Use of Stem Cells Stems Cells can be used for bone, muscle, and cartilage Stem Cells are broken into four types Embryonic- Stem Cells taken from human embryos Fetal-Stem Cells taken from aborted fetal tissue Umbilical-Stem Cells taken from umbilical cords Adult- Stem Cells taken from adult tissue Embryonic and Fetal stem cells have the potential to become a greater variety of cells, rather than Adult cells.

4. Stem Cell Research in India One of the forerunners in the world for stem cell research created new embryonic cell lines India’s IVF clinics are an established source of embryos, they draw foreign doctors for supplies in the mid 2000’s many clinics were found to be following through with treatments that were not yet deemed efficient or safe. there was little oversight in what was going on in the clinics have faked approval by the government to get away with treatments and made false claims about the treatments they are conducting example of these treatments are: stem cells being injected to improve the nervous system (not yet proven) stem cell treatments that do not have evidence of trials were outlawed in 2014 for safety reasons

5. Indian Cultural Influence Fertility taboos The ethical guidelines for biomedical research were published by the Indian Council for Medical Research in 2000. They include restrictions and prohibition of reproductive cloning, implantation of a human embryo into the uterus after in vitro manipulation, and transfer of human blast0cysts generated by somatic cell nuclear transfer into a uterus. However there is no legal enforcement of these guidelines, so only about 40% of Indian scientists reportedly follow the principles. No need for approval from ICMR 80% of people in India are Hindu and most support adult stem cell research, not embryonic research killing a fetus is a sinful act.

6. Indian Cultural Influence cont. Justification Incarnation taking place in the 7th month of pregnancy, so research would be acceptable as long as the embryo was not 7 months old. Sacrifices for the greater good

8. Sources http://www.businessinsider.in/Stem-CellResearch-In-India-Surges- Ahead/articleshow/40278445.cms http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3601694/ http://www.explorestemcells.co.uk/whyarestemcellsimportant.html