Will stem cell transplant prove to be helpful in saving life of nuclear workers?

The recent earthquake brought a number of unfavorable events for Japan and left the country’s economy totally demolished. Further, it also affected the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant. Nowadays workers are busy fixing the damage already done to the reactors. These workers can receive stem cell treatments that are normally performed on the cancer patients. Under this technique, blood stem cells are injected into the bone marrow of cancer patient’s that have undergone damage by the radiations.

The experts believe that this approach of stem cell technology could also be useful in saving lives of workers in nuclear plant of Japan. These workers due to contamination with high radioactive waves are carrying risk to develop a syndrome of acute radiation. The residents within the area of around twelve mile radius have evacuated the place already. Many of the workers have been hospitalized due to contact with radio-active water while laying electricity cables. Thus to combat this, authorities of Japan are considering about the stem cell banking. They are planning to collect cells from few workers and then freeze if any of them would require transplantation in the future.

The workers suffering from acute syndrome have developed chances of very less survival rate. It was quoted by website of US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The site also published that major cause for death would be bone marrow damage. This is why scientists are asking for transplantation of stem cells. Under this technique, a patient is injected with certain chemicals that enhance the production of bone marrow and as a result discharge many stem cells in the blood. Several days later these cells are harvested by a blood filtration system.

The stem cell transplant has to be performed on the workers in the nuclear plant much before their exposure to the radiations. The stem cells extracted would be used in future if they are harmed. According to a researcher of stem cells and Barts and London School of Medicine Professor of Cell and Molecular biology, Dr. Dean Nizetic – the process would require a careful watch over the exposure dose and it should not be taken casually due to numerous safety checks. Nizetin has objected the careless attitude shown by workers. It is because the process gives them a false belief that they are secure completely while it still possesses some risk factor.

Nizetic told that the human tissues that possess high danger to get damaged due to radiation exposure first are- skin, lining of digestive tract and bone marrow. As the transplantation process has the capability to restore bone marrow of a patient but damage to other cells is not easily correctable. Even if it is under some conditions, they require risky and very expensive procedures. This nuclear crisis has raised many controversies such as – what precautions and how much, for only workers or also for the people residing at a close distance to the area. The workers at this plant have been provided with drugs in advance. One is potassium iodide that will help to lessen the danger of thyroid cancer with the exposure to radiations. The topic of the debate continues to be how many of them have to be provided with such drugs.