State Money Should Fund Only Non-Embryonic Stem Cell Research

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Toni Meyer, Sr. Research Analyst, New Jersey Family Policy Council

As state officials prepare to make decisions by year-end as to who should receive the government’s $5mil dollars in grant money for stem cell research in NJ, newspaper articles have abounded on the subject and legislators, political figures, and researchers have weighed in on the issue. Unfortunately, many have blurred the clear distinction that exists between the successful usages of adult stem cells in curing humans versus the so called “promising’ research with embryonic stem cells in lab animals. Dr. David Prentice, Affiliated Scholar for the Center for Clinical Bioethics, Georgetown University Medical Center, made the distinction very clear in a recent telephone interview. “A peer reviewed paper was just released on a South Korean woman who had been paralyzed for 20 years, but is now walking again, with braces, since being treated with stem cells derived from umbilical cord blood” he said. “In contrast, after 24 years of research with embryonic stem cells, researchers are just now only treating rats with brand new injuries”. By blurring this distinction, the public has been led to believe that both types of research are necessary to find cures for dreaded diseases and disabilities. Gubernatorial candidate Jon Corzine went so far as to say that limiting federal funding of embryonic stem cell research was “inadequate to meet the needs of researchers” and stated “it’s bad science and it’s bad medicine and it won’t work”. The truth is, little, if any, basis is found for the claim that funding embryonic stem cell research, which destroys human embryos, is even necessary when one considers the latest breakthroughs with adult/non-embryonic stem cells. Month after month researchers are proving that adult stems cells, and stem cells found in umbilical cord blood and placenta, are perfectly suitable for and showing the most promise for, use in developing all the cures we hope for.

A commonly repeated claim as to why embryonic research was thought to be necessary, was that adult stem cells were not as flexible as embryonic cells, only forming the tissue from which they originated. This claim is consistently being proven false in a growing list of studies since the mid-1990’s which show that non-embryonic stem cells are just as flexible. Within the last four years, researchers have demonstrated from around the world that adult stem cells from bone marrow, blood, amniotic fluid, placenta, umbilical cord blood, and nasal tissue have remarkable plasticity, yet without the problems of tumors seen with embryonic stem cells. In August, University of Pittsburg researchers demonstrated that they can generate any cell from amniotic epithelial cells found in human placenta which could potentially be used to produce new liver cells to treat liver failure, or new pancreatic islet cells to cure diabetes, or new neurons to treat Parkinson's disease. In May and June several research groups showed they could get any cell from bone marrow.

Other common reasons given for a need to work with embryonic stem cells were that they could be multiplied at a faster rate, and that they might be better at treating neural disease. In August, a Texas-UK research team showed that they could extract as many as 10,000 primitive cells from umbilical cord blood and then use a micro-bioreactor to generate millions more. Colin McGuckin of Kingston University in Surrey, UK, who co-led the Texas team also explained that these cells are able to differentiate into the three fundamental cell types that go on to form all adult tissues and that their work is awaiting publication. Lastly, back in May, nasal stem cells were studied in Australia and it was found that they could not only be used for various treatment applications, but they could also be used to steady neural diseases such as Parkinsons, Lou Gehrig’s Disease, and even Alzheimers.

Adult stem cells have now helped patients with at least 65 different diseases, while embryonic has helped zero. Thousands of adult/non-embryonic stem cell therapy patients have already experienced relief from conditions that include leukemia, multiple sclerosis, lupus, sickle-cell anemia, and heart damage. Success has also been seen in reversing Parkinson’s disease. Adult stem cells have grown new blood vessels to prevent amputation from gangerene, new corneas to restore sight, and new cartilage and bone. They’ve been used to improve spinal cord injuries, and have prevented life-threatening problems from genetic diseases for children. Now, a Harvard team has received FDA approval to begin patient trials for juvenile diabetes with adult stem cells, while researchers still haven’t gotten one embryonic cell to even make insulin in order to treat diabetes. The latest research clearly shows that the best hope for the new cures that many pray for lie in non-embryonic stem cell research. There is no reason to broach the ethical dilemma of utilizing tax payer money for controversial embryonic research that will destroy human embryos.