7. Expectations: realistic and unrealistic

Abstract

‘Expectations: realistic and unrealistic’ contemplates the goal of biomedical sciences to regenerate missing structures and to cure heart failure, diabetes, cancer, and neurodegeneration. The hype and controversy of human embryonic stem (ES) cells led the proponents of stem cell research to promise very rapid development of very radical cures. In reality progress will be slow. There are a number of lessons that we can learn from the development of haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT), which is one of the major applications of stem cell therapy in clinical practice.