Social Impact While the possibilities of regenerative medicine are expanding in the scientific realm, the news about it in the everyday world is hardly progressing. Without any public awareness, the process is very limited in its possibility for success. Issues with the publication of the results often lead to misinterpretations of the facts by people not capable of fully understanding what those facts mean. This leads to the extreme statements often made by news and radio such as, "Limitless cure". The statements regarding scientists as "BabyKilling" are proved false thanks to the monumental breakthrough in stem cell technology. In 2007, a process was created that allowed stem cells to be obtained without taking of the future life of the fetus. Scientists discovered they could get human skin cells to behave like embryonic cells. This achievement is important in that it overcomes a huge gap in the opposition to regenerative medicine. Regenerative medicine is increasing in popularity with 74% of Americans strongly supporting stem cell research. With the increase in support comes the increase of success. The implementation of regenerative medicine on a broader scale can only benefit people around the world by allowing people to live longer than nature had originally intended. With the dispute over the method of stem cell collection put to rest, RM can finally begin to spread around the world impacting lives of those who are dying.
Global Impact 40% of the RM facilities founded since 200 have been outside the U.S.. The Japanese plan to invest $831 billion in the Kobe Medical Development Project. The Chinese are close behind with a plan to invest $250 million on RM over the next few years. |
Economic Impact Not only is regenerative medicine held back by the public views but also by the economic situation the country is currently in. Due to the recession, people are not willing to invest their money experiments that do not guarantee success. However, the sale of the products produced by RM is a valuable source of income for the world economy. As of 2007, worldwide commercial tissue-regenerative products or services had annual sales of over $1.3 billion. U.S. sales of commercially available stem cell therapies were $15.2 million in 2007 and $16.5 million in the first two quarters of 2008. With the increase in the number of stem cell patients increasing from 111 in 2003 to 539 in 2007, there is an increase in the possible revenue that can be made from the RM products. With over 500 companies involved in cell therapy and over 110 involved in stem cell research, the increase in profit from RM will lead to the creation of new companies which will require more people to work thus creating many much needed jobs for Americans. As of 2007, there were 6100 full time employees working in the RM field. The number will continue to increase as the methods of RM become more widely used.  |
