Dr. Sato had begun speaking in a calm, mature voice as she paced back and forth in front of the audience. “First, I want to thank everyone for giving me the opportunity to respond to this dilemma. The use of stem cells, as most of you know, is at the crux of the duty of any research doctor. We have a duty to prevent suffering. We also have a duty to respect the value of human life regardless of the age of that human or when you believe life begins. I am sure all of you have wrestled with that dilemma yourself. Some of you may have decided to give up on the idea of stem cell research. That is your right and your decision should be respected. Some of you have decided that the moral responsibility to alleviate suffering takes precedence over the moral case for preserving the stem cell that will be destroyed. It is not an easy decision. I want to explain to you how I arrived at my own decision. I cannot speak for everyone in the audience when it comes to making a moral decision on this topic. I can only speak for myself.
“First of all, the embryo will be destroyed at a very early stage, which means it cannot grow into a human life, as it has not been placed in the woman. I have to acknowledge that fact. The question is how do I justify it? Well, the embryo that I use has not yet been placed into a woman’s body. The woman who donated the cells has also given me permission to destroy the embryo. Certainly, given that she is the mother of her own cells, I could not destroy them without her permission. Each woman does this on a strictly voluntary basis. While it is not exactly the same thing, it is similar to the process of donating an organ from a live or deceased person. We cannot force anyone to give up an organ.
“As a researcher I have to think of how many lives I could save with the use of this embryo. My answer to that could be thousands of people might benefit from the research I do with this embryo. In fact, I might be able to save the life of the woman who donates the embryo and the lives of any future children she may have. Imagine if we could find a cure for Alzheimer’s disease with the use of stem cells that could be implanted into a human so they would not lose their memories and ability to perform even basic tasks. This would save millions of lives and save their children from having to essentially give up their own lives to take care of their parents. I am almost sure that every child who has a parent with Alzheimer’s would gladly donate their own adult stem cells if they could to save the life of their mother or father. However, at this point, adult stem cells do not have that potential. I do wish we could do so, and, in the future, it may happen.
“Therefore, I choose to save millions of lives over the life of one individual. This is not an easy decision to make, and I hope that everyone can understand that this is not an easy decision but one that each of us has to make that is free of government intervention. If you wish to speak to me about my personal decision or object to what I have just said, that is fine with me. I can honestly look myself in the mirror and say that if there was an alternative to stem cell research, I would try the alternative. I would not mind meeting with you in a private setting and you can air all of your grievances. However, right now I would like to finish discussing my research with my esteemed colleagues.”
The protestors, while not applauding, had seen the pain and seriousness in Dr. Sato’s body and facial expressions as she spoke and knew that Dr. Sato had really spoken form her heart. They all had nodded to each other and had left the room so that Dr. Sato could finish her lecture.
Tom was extremely impressed by the way that Dr. Sato had been able to calm and control the audience and then make her point. To Tom, this was the mark of a great leader.
A few years after the symposium, it became possible to create many stem cells using adult stem cells. They were called a pluripotent stem cells and were pioneered by Shinya Yamanaka’s research in Japan. He received the Nobel Prize for his work. These cells could reproduce endlessly and could be used to replace damaged tissue or facilitate cures for diseases. It was then possible for someone’s own stem cells to be used for a transplant for a body’s organ.
With all these new scientific breakthroughs, Tom knew that Dr. Sato was the right person for the job as chief physician because she was interested in their application. The only question was whether she would accept the position.
Now fourteen years later, he stood in her office ready to find out. Her secretary greeted him. “Dr. Sato is in a meeting with a colleague to review some research which will take about an hour. In the meantime, she has asked me to give you a tour of the research facilities while you wait if that is all right with you?”
“Sure,” Tom said. Since research facilities would have to be built, Tom agreed to the tour.
The tour was very enlightening. He was able to view some of the most up-to-date, state-of-the-art stem cell research that was currently happening as well as briefly discuss research with doctors, scientists, and students. He was cautious about the types of questions he asked, trying not to relate them back to any concerns he’d read about spaceflight impacting male fertility. Still, he wanted to better understand what stem cell research had learned about restoring fertility as well as many other diseases including heart disease. It was clear that hearts and other organs were not made to last over a hundred years without some kind of problem. The scientists and doctors were in agreement that, with the latest research, there was some promise. It wasn’t just at the University of Chicago. Several schools of medicine around the country had found the benefits of injecting stem cells to stimulate sperm production in the case of infertility.
And as he grappled with some of the studies they were excited about, in particular how stem cells react to different molecules and environments, Tom wondered about the effect of the space environment on stem cells in their development. He kept his questions to himself, knowing it was too soon to be asking anyone. If Dr. Sato accepted his offer to join them, it would be something she would grapple with in researching higher levels of cosmic radiation to estimate their effects and their survival ratios. He wondered if Dr. Sato knew anyone working on NASA’s Bioculture System. The research platform was meant to conduct on-orbit experiments to advance the scientific merit and application of new scientific developments that could address the response to living in space at a cellular level. If not, he’d put them in touch somehow. The expertise would be invaluable and the practical need priceless. He was sure one of the investors at the meeting yesterday had brought up SpaceX’s launch of the system.
Lost in thought, he realized that he’d been walking through aisles of electron microscopy technologies that jolted him back. “Are these part of your cellular studies into the application of the cryopreservation of cells and tissues for long-term storage? I recently read a study by the National Institute of Health that supports the possibility of reversible cryopreservation through vitrification of cells.”
“Indeed, do you have your cryoprotectant on? Don’t stand too close!” one of the doctors joked.
Tom smiled. “I suppose I better get to know some of the humor here if I’m going to avoid getting a cold shoulder,” he joked back.
“Well, the folks in cytometry might still be able to analyze whether you might recover the use of your shoulder, but it’s a little bigger than our stem cell colonies, so best to stand back for now.” He sincerely hoped that Dr. Sato would be able to answer a lot of the questions that were tumbling around inside his mind. They’d have time, but with little proven, it seemed they’d be stuck in the labs eternally without some entrepreneurs ready to move beyond living life in a frozen state waiting for lab results.