Stem Cell Bank Picks up Lines
David Wahlberg from the Wisconsin State Journal has a very informative outlook on stem cell research. The National Stem Cell Bank is housed at the WiCell Research Institute and is affiliated with UW-Madison. This is the country's only official repository of the cells and contains government-sanctioned human embryonic stem cells. Wicell grows and studies these cells and then sends them around the world for research and in hope for cures. Wicell received 16 million dollars over four years from the National Institute of Health to run tests and store 21-stem cell lines. Each stem cell line contains fifteen vials, each which are composed of three million cells. These cells are extremely fragile and are very vulnerable when they are being thawed out.
This is a very slow process due to the competitive nature of science and politics. There are rules such as receiving federal funding only if cells used were created before August 9, 2001. Also, as politics and leaders begin to change, views and regulations will change as well.
This is a very controversial issue because many believe that its wrong to destroy these embryos because they are human life. Others believe that this is the gate-way to finding cures to diseases such as diabetes and Parkinson's. Stem cell research has a very unclear future and only time will tell. What do you think will happen with this process?
3 comments:
As Leslie stated, stem cell research is a heavily debated topic that hits home here in Madison. Millions of dollars are beings spent annually on research that ultimately could change the world we know. Like stem cell research, the Human Genome project is a massive database for DNA that is being used to identify and study certain diseases and disorders. All human eternal make-up has been successfully identified and the knowledge is being shared. This information has been saved in databases and has been a subject of much controversy. The controversy does not exist with the information itself, but with the practices involving the information. As the article states, when stem cells are involved there is the debate regarding the tampering with human life. Also when stem cells are sent all around the world, there is no way of determining what is being done to them. Different countries have different regulations regarding stem cells which are influenced by the people in a particular region. Because of this there may not be regulations for stem cell research for years to come. This may become more of a problem as technology and knowledge grows because there will be the capability of understanding more, but the problem of being unable to do the work on the stem cells themselves.
This is the first that I heard of anything like this, and frankly I'm amazed. First and foremost, I'm amazed that our school will soon be the only place with a supply of stem cells. It's awesome to think that 20 of the 21 lines of stem cells are here in Madison for research opportunities. I also find it intriguing that UW-Madison has the capability of reproducing and distributing these cells to the rest of world.
It shows a big step in our government policy that a seemingly “pro-life” president is allowing certain lines of stem cells to be used for research. Along with that, a $16 million dollar grant was given to WiCell, the company in charge of the operation, so that proper procedures could be executed to ensure the most success possible. It may all change with the next president, who knows, but hopefully with the next president even further stem-cell research will be permitted so we can work to find a cure for diabetes, Parkinsons, spinal cord injury, and heart disease.
Stem cell research is the foremost frontier in medical technology and the fact that there are people who still oppose it is astonishing to me. Stem cells hold the key to curring so many of the diseases that plague our population. The controversy over whether stem cells are to be considered human life is a poor one because they are not. Stem cells do come from aborted fetuses, legally aborted fetuses. I think that some of the fear associated with this research comes from the idea that maybe fetuses could be produced for the sole purpose of harvesting stem cells. This is an issue that government regulations must control. With these fears out of the way the possibilities of the modern medical field are endless and I believe that soon we will have the answers to many of the questions that the medical field still has out there.
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