This fall funding for embryonic stem cell research once again faces uncertainty. In August a federal district court judge blocked the use of federal funds for any project that would destroy embryos. In September a higher court restored funding temporarily, while it considers an appeal by the Justice Department. We offer a guide to the facts behind the controversy:

Where do the embryos used for stem cell lines come from?
All stem cell lines come from discarded IVF embryos. Currently there are around 400,000 embryos stored at fertility clinics around the country.

How many stem cell lines are there?
A stem cell line is a family of constantly dividing cells produced from a group of parent cells that were harvested from a single embryo. M. William Lensch, a scientist at the Harvard Stem Cell Institute, estimates there are 800 lines around the world.

Why isn’t this enough?
In theory, one stem cell line can supply an infinite number of researchers indefinitely. But despite their omnipotent potential, embryonic stem cells are a finicky lot. Some have a tendency to grow into liver cells, others into blood, and others into nerve, pancreas or heart tissue. Sometimes the differences are caused by known factors, such as embryo age or protein contamination, but more frequently they are not understood. “For some projects, existing lines work very well, but for others, not at all,” Lensch says.

Why aren’t more unused embryos made into cell lines?
Whereas some 60 percent of infertility patients would like to donate their unused embryos to research, a dearth of funding and an uncertain regulatory environment have muddied the process. “Everything is at a stand­still right now,” says Elena Gates, director of the IVF tissue bank at the University of California, San Francisco.

This article was originally published with the title Getting It Right on Stem Cells.

1 Comments

1. 1. JerzeyAl 10:53 AM 11/11/10

   To SDSDSD above ... WTF???
   
   I strongly believe stem cell research is extremely important to the field of medicine ... the possibilities for successful medical treatment of diseased tissues and regrowth of tissues damaged due to injury seem endless. Though we're still in the early stages of this research, the undiscovered beneficent uses could far outnumber the wonders we've received from vaccines, once opposed by the general public because of the possibility of viruses mutating and escaping from labs, which could spell the end of civilization.
   
   As a Catholic man, I fully understand the mindset of the religiously centered public that destroying an embryo is killing a human life, which translates to murder, so creating new stem cell lines from existing embryos is an abomination and completely against God's word and Plan. I hope those opposed to stem cell research and the creation of new lines will consider that 1) these tiny human lives in the very early stages of formation are doomed and slated for destruction, 2) the parents of these embryos have provided their permission to use them for stem cell research, and 3) consider the similarity of a parent of a fully developed child that is on the brink of death providing permission for doctors to utilize the child's body or body parts at death for the treatment of other people who can benefit from receiving that child's organs, etc. Also consider that the cluster celled embryo has no brain, heart, nervous system or organs of any kind, so there is no pain or sensation of any kind. Finally, imagine your child has had an accident and severed his/her spinal cord, rendering your child a quadraplegic. If the ability to regrow your child's spinal cord were a possibility, would you turn it down and subject your child to a life of needing constant care, or would you want your child to live a full life again through the injection of stem cells from a stem cell line that will perform the job of repairing the injury? I can't imagine a person who wouldn't want the very best for their children (or family member or dear friend).

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