Embryonic Stem Cell Research
There is much hope, and desperation too, on embryonic stem cell research in the news lately. The House of Representatives have passed a Bill to increase taxpayer funding of embryonic stem cell research (that will be vetoed by President Bush ultimately). For those who are unfamiliar, the source of embryos will be those unclaimed, abandoned at embryo banks and from cloned embryos.
Senator Brownback states that private and federal funding has conducted embryonic research for over two decades and the result is pathetic – no human patient has yet to be treated! On the other side of the coin, we have had tremendous success with adult and non-embryonic stem cells (cord-blood, placentas and nasal passage) having clinical application for over 70 diseases. From an efficiency point of view, it’s pretty easy to pick the right area of research. That’s right – it’s going to be adult and cord blood stem cells.
If it was Big Pharma or any pharmaceutical company that’s deciding which area to fund, they wouldn’t vote the way the House or Senate have. Big Pharma would have dumped embryonic stem cell research after 10 years of non-results.
Why can’t politicians be equally intelligent? Or for that matter Michael J. Fox and the late Christopher Reeves? I think it’s a mix of both a lack of awareness of the promise of non-embryonic stem cell research as well as herd mentality.
We need to spread the word on the wonders of stem-cell research that doesn’t destroy one life in order to save another life.