ABSTRACT
Hematopoietic stem-cell (HSC) therapy is well established in clinical practice. Both autolo-
gous (ASCT) and allogeneic stem-cell transplantations (alloSCT) have been critical in the
progress toward potential cure of leukemia, lymphoma, and other malignancies and the
ability to transplant allogeneic stem cells has not only contributed in the field of malignant
hematology but also been a key approach toward the cure of some inherited hemoglobino-
pathy and bone marrow (BM) failure conditions. Stem cells have the potential to regenerate
a variety of tissues, as indicated by a number of groundbreaking but preliminary reports on
stem-cell plasticity in vitro, but ethical issues and safety considerations preclude the use of
human embryonic stem cells in the clinical setting at present. The exploitation of adult stem
cells might circumvent the controversial issues posed by stem cells derived from embryonal
tissue, although the true potential for plasticity of adult stem cells remains under scrutiny,
with many contradictory reports in the field of stem-cell research.
