Adult stem cell success

Washing one's hands of the conflict between the powerful and the powerless means to side with the powerful, not to be neutral.- Paulo Freire

Research using adult stem cells continues to yield successful treatments for many human diseases and injuries (though we don't hear much of it from the main media sources). I am one who believes there is no need to pursue embryonic stem cell (ESC) research when there are so many success stories using adult cells and cord blood. Over 70 diseases and conditions have already been treated through adult stem cells, helping patients overcome everything from juvenile diabetes to Parkinson’s and heart disease. (For an extensive overview, see http://www.frc.org/insight/adult-stem-cell-success-stories-2008-update-july-december)

There is a common misconception that ESC research hasn't yielded these same results because it's wasn't legal. It was. Only federal funding was restricted, until Obama lifted the ban just days ago [additionally, and sadly, “Obama left open the possibility of federal funds going to the creation of new embryos, rather than relying entirely on excess embryos from in vitro fertilization clinics.” (http://www.usnews.com/articles/news/religion/2009/03/19/obamas-stem-cell-order-reopens-the-culture-wars.html)] Many of the private ESC financiers see ESC research as an expensive failure. Even Dr. James Thomson, who first grew human ESC in 1998, has pulled his resources from embryos and invested in induced pluripotent (or iPS) cells, because, apart from the satisfying the moral dilemma, these cells are easier and cheaper to reproduce.

I propose that movement toward greater wellness need not happen at the expense of the powerless.