How Are Embryonic Stem Cells Collected?
Embryonic stem cells are derived from embryonic tissues. In most cases, embryonic stem cells are created or procured from embryos that have been developed from eggs fertilized through in-vitro fertilization procedures, but what most people don’t know or realize is that many of them are donated for research purposes with informed consent of the donors. It should be stated unequivocally that embryonic stem cells are not taken from eggs fertilized within a woman’s body. Embryonic tissues and cells are generally collected four to five days after fertilization occurs in cell cultures grown in laboratories. Embryonic cells grown in the laboratory settings (in culture mediums) divide and spread over the surface of petri dishes. Today, research and development of embryonic stem lines is still not perfected, and small numbers of embryonic cells must be cultured, divided and multiplied repetitively to produce adequate amounts of embryonic stem cells for research at laboratories around the world.
