In response to President Obama’s March 9th Executive Order lifting the Bush Administration’s restrictions on stem cell research, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has issued draft guidelines on the federal funding of this research. The public comment period for the draft is open through May 26th so there’s still time to have your voice heard!
There’s no arguing that the Order was a major step forward for stem cell research, however, advocates have some concerns about the guidelines. While they do a good job of ensuring that eligible stem cell lines follow strict criteria on informed consent, quality of care, and other important ethical issues; they don’t ensure that currently used lines will be eligible. A provision should be added that permits use of current lines if they were derived using the prevailing ethical practices at that time. As the draft stands, important research could be brought to a standstill.
The other major concern is the fact that the guidelines fail to provide funding for lines derived from sources other than IVF embryos—for example from somatic cell nuclear transfer. These sources offer great hope for patients and the guidelines should allow for federal funding of all avenues of stem cell research.
To read the draft guidelines go to http://stemcells.nih.gov/policy/2009draft. If you’re interested in submitting comments go to http://nihoerextra.nih.gov/stem_cells/add.htm and choose “self” as your affiliation. You can also get suggested language from the Coalition for the Advancement of Medical Research (CAMR) by sending an e-mail to CAMResearch@yahoo.com.
The NIH will be analyzing both the content and the amount of public comment so pass this information on to friends and family who are pro-cures and excited about the future of stem cell research. Your support will help ensure that strong federal support moves critical science forward as quickly as possible.
"Removing Barriers to Responsible Research Involving Human Stem Cells is a much needed response from the Obana Government." Research framework and methodologies will realize the potential of embryonic stem cell.
Majority of American's believe that NIH has the ethical standards and will maintain highest safety for best practice.
What stem cell research does is cultivate and nurture of stem cells, enabling it to be reproduced to other specific parts of the body. Limbs and organs could be grown from then used in transplants or to cure illnesses.
The raw material is used for nearly all kinds of human tissue. New treatments for a range of human diseases including diabetes, heart disease, some forms of cancer, and Parkinson's disease can now be explored.
This research may also benefits the study that cannot be conducted directly in a human embryo.
There are no problems surrounding the method of research. However, the problem may be in the obtaining of the stem cells. This leads to risk of unscrupulous individuals obtaining the embryos or fetus and selling organs on the black market.
This is a fabulous outcome for a range of health and medical issues. The ability to further research stem cell research will lead to health benefits for millions. I personally look forward to the approved paper so medical research may continue.