The invention discloses a method for separating and purifying
totipotent stem cells from the tissues of early aborted fetuses of human beings, including the steps: a. a sample of the
placenta tissue of the aborted
fetus after the first
pregnancy period is collected; b. the
umbilical cord tissue or the intestine tissue of the
fetus is obtained from the sample gained in the step a; c. cells are obtained from the
umbilical cord tissue or the intestine tissue of the
fetus gained in the step b; and d. markers of the
embryonic stem cell, such as OCT-4, Nanog, SSEA-3, SSEA-4, TRA-1-60, TRA-1-81, and the like which are obtained from the cells of the
umbilical cord tissue or the intestine tissue of the fetus, are separated, purified and expressed, and can form the
stem cell of an
embryoid body. The cells obtained by the method of the invention are always in the state of undifferentiation. The invention also discloses the application of the stem cells in forming different human cells, such as cardiac muscles, nerves and
islet beta cells or osseus cells. The method avoids the dispute over ethnics which needs to be faced with during the operation of obtaining the
totipotent stem cells from the
embryo, and more stem cells can be obtained than from
blastocyst.