Britannica Sources used in this answer

How do induced pluripotent stem cells reduce some ethical concerns about embryonic stem cells?

Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

Diagram showing the locations of neural stem cells in brain regions such as the hippocampus and ventricles, and hematopoietic stem cells in the bone marrow and blood, with labeled illustrations of the brain, spinal cord, circulatory system, and skeleton. — stem cell Stem cells of neural and hematopoietic origin have tremendous potential in the development of therapies for certain diseases, such as diabetes and Parkinson disease. Neural stem cells occur in the spinal cord and in specific regions of the brain, and hematopoietic stem cells occur in the blood and bone marrow.

Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS cells) reduce ethical concerns surrounding embryonic stem cells primarily because their generation does not require the use of human embryos.12

Embryonic stem cell research has historically sparked significant debate regarding the moral status of human embryos, as these cells are typically obtained from early-stage embryos donated through in vitro fertilization. By contrast, iPS cells are created by reprogramming mature adult somatic cells—such as skin cells—back into a pluripotent, stem-like state. Because this process relies on adult cells rather than embryos, it offers a less controversial alternative for obtaining pluripotent cells for medical research and potential therapeutic applications.312

While iPS technology addresses the primary ethical dilemma regarding the destruction of embryos, it introduces new considerations in reproductive medicine, such as the potential for generating human eggs and sperm, which prompts further debate over gene editing and the ethical boundaries of reproductive technologies.3