Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Politics : Politics for Pros- moderated -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: kumar who wrote (76465)	10/11/2004 9:00:05 AM
From: John Carragher	Respond to of 793789

"The Stem Cell Debate" "The stem cell debate in N. America and Europe is shrouded in confusion, = media hype, political spin and biased, ill-informed input from = self-interested 'celebrities.' The debate centers around embryonic stem = cells which are promoted as a potential panacea. No mention is ever made = of any other sources of stem cells in these debates and the Earth = shattering moral, religious, ethical and legal objections to embryonic = stem cells are brushed aside as irrelevant to the overall 'good' which = will come from embryonic stem cell therapies. The subject has even = become a part of the US Presidential debate! In the early 1980's Bob Edwards and myself at Cambridge University = carried out the early experiments on embryonic stem cells using a mouse = model. We showed that the cells had enormous potential in that they = repaired radiation damage in mice very readily. Despite these promising = results in the laboratory we knew that to try to apply such technology = to the human in the clinic would raise serious objections. The current = debate highlights these early fears. One major, debate crushing point = which is consistently ignored is the fact that there is another easily = accessible, just as promising, source of stem cells. This source is = umbilical cord blood. Umbilical cord blood stem cells have been collected and transplanted = since 1988. Over 3,000 transplants have been carrier out Worldwide for = over 45 different diseases. These diseases include the leukemia's, = related blood disorders and repair of the bone marrow following high = dose chemotherapy for cancer. Umbilical cord blood can be collected at = the birth of every baby but currently less than 1% of deliveries = actually collect the cord blood. This life saving source of stem cells = is being discarded as biological waste on a daily basis at the same time = as other people argue for the creation of embryonic stem cells. = Umbilical cord blood stem cells have also been shown to be capable of = forming every tissue type in the body which is exactly the argument for = the use of embryonic stem cells. Umbilical cord blood stem cells carry = just as much, if not more, promise as embryonic stem cells in terms of = future therapies for a whole range of disease. The collection of umbilical cord blood stem cells is a quick, painless = and risk free procedure carried out just after a baby is born. A needle, = attached to a blood collection bag, is inserted into the umbilical cord = and blood is allowed to drain into the collection bag. This is then sent = to the laboratory for processing and freezing in liquid nitrogen. Once = frozen the sample is stable indefinitely. This process is a cheap and = easy way of obtaining stem cells which have all the potential of = embryonic stem cells without the objections. The stem cell debate is confused. The public is confused. The = politicians are confused. The hard fact is that we should be = concentrating all of our time, money and expertise on the development of = umbilical cord blood stem cell technologies. This is where the current = and future applications of stem cells truly lie." Dr. Peter Hollands, director of Cells for Life