Stem Cells

On this page

Basics

• Summary
• Start Here

Learn More

• Related Issues
• Specifics

See, Play and Learn

• Videos and Tutorials

Research

• Statistics and Research
• Clinical Trials
• Journal Articles

Resources

• Reference Desk
• Find an Expert

For You

• Children
• Teenagers
• Patient Handouts

Summary

Stem cells are cells with the potential to develop into many different types of cells in the body. They serve as a repair system for the body. There are two main types of stem cells: embryonic stem cells and adult stem cells.

Stem cells are different from other cells in the body in three ways:

• They can divide and renew themselves over a long time
• They are unspecialized, so they cannot do specific functions in the body
• They have the potential to become specialized cells, such as muscle cells, blood cells, and brain cells

Doctors and scientists are excited about stem cells because they could help in many different areas of health and medical research. Studying stem cells may help explain how serious conditions such as birth defects and cancer come about. Stem cells may one day be used to make cells and tissues for therapy of many diseases. Examples include Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, spinal cord injury, heart disease, diabetes, and arthritis.

NIH: National Institutes of Health

Start Here

• Learn About Stem Cells (International Society for Stem Cell Research)
• Stem Cell Basics (National Institutes of Health)
• Stem Cell Transplant (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
• Stem Cells: What They Are and What They Do (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish

Related Issues

• Cord-Blood Banking (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish
• Donating Peripheral Blood Stem Cells (National Marrow Donor Program)
• FDA Warns About Stem Cell Therapies (Food and Drug Administration) Also in Spanish
• Life After Transplant (National Marrow Donor Program)
• Severe Combined Immunodeficiency (SCID) (National Marrow Donor Program)
• Stem Cell Transplant Patients and Fungal Infections (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
• Stem Cell Treatments: What to Ask (International Society for Stem Cell Research)
• Treatment Before Transplant (National Marrow Donor Program)
• What's It Like to Donate Stem Cells? (American Cancer Society) Also in Spanish

Specifics

• Blood-Forming Stem Cell Transplants (National Cancer Institute) Also in Spanish
• Cord Blood and Transplants (National Marrow Donor Program)
• Cytomegalovirus (CMV) Infection: A Guide for Patients and Families After Stem Cell Transplant (National Institutes of Health, Clinical Center) - PDF
• GVHD (Graft-Versus-Host Disease): A Guide for Patients and Families After Stem Cell Transplant (National Institutes of Health, Clinical Center) - PDF
• Learn About Bone Marrow Transplantation as a Treatment Option (Health Resources and Services Administration)
• Nine Things to Know About Stem Cell Treatments (International Society for Stem Cell Research)
• Stem Cell Transplant Side Effects (American Cancer Society) Also in Spanish
• Types of Stem Cells (International Society for Stem Cell Research)
• What is it Like to Get a Stem Cell Transplant? (American Cancer Society) Also in Spanish

Videos and Tutorials

• Becoming a Blood Stem Cell Donor (National Cancer Institute)

Statistics and Research

• Fixing Flawed Body Parts: Engineering New Tissues and Organs (National Institutes of Health) Also in Spanish
• Information on Stem Cell Research (National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke)
• Transplant Outcomes (Bone Marrow and Cord Blood) (Health Resources and Services Administration)

Clinical Trials

• ClinicalTrials.gov: Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation (National Institutes of Health)
• ClinicalTrials.gov: Hematopoietic Stem Cells (National Institutes of Health)
• ClinicalTrials.gov: Stem Cell Transplantation (National Institutes of Health)
• ClinicalTrials.gov: Stem Cells (National Institutes of Health)

Journal Articles References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)

• Article: Extramedullary relapse of leukemia after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation: A...
• Article: HIV Remission After Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplant.
• Article: Sexuality after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation: A mixed methods study.
• Stem Cells -- see more articles

Reference Desk

• Stem Cell Information: Glossary (National Institutes of Health)

Find an Expert

• National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke Also in Spanish

Children

• Stem Cell Transplants (For Parents) (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish

Teenagers

• Stem Cell Transplants (For Teens) (Nemours Foundation)

Patient Handouts

• Bone marrow (stem cell) donation (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Organ or Stem Cell Transplant and Your Mouth (National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research) - PDF