Benefits of Stem Cell Research

Why is embryonic stem cell research important?

Research with embryonic stem cells may lead to new, more effective treatments for
serious human ailments and alleviate the suffering of thousands of people. Diseases such
as juvenile diabetes, Parkinson’s disease, heart failure and spinal cord injuries are
examples.

Why do embryonic stem cells hold such promise?

They can develop into any cell type in the body.

They can form unlimited quantities of any cell type in the body.
They will help us understand inherited diseases by allowing us to study human
cells bearing the exact genetic defects that cause disease in patients.
They will allow us to discover safer and more effective drugs by making it easier
to screen drug candidates.

What has stem cell research accomplished?

Bone marrow transplants have been performed for decades and involve the infusion of
adult stem cells. Research based on embryonic and adult stem cells has yielded promising
results for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease and diabetes. Stem cell research also has
generated new knowledge about basic cell mechanisms that is critical to understanding
the causes of disease, such as cancer.
Some have criticized embryonic stem cell research by arguing that adult stem cells have
delivered more treatments, but that observation is misleading. While adult stem cells have
been studied for decades, human embryonic stem cells were first isolated in 1998. There
has not yet been time to develop new therapies using embryonic stem cells.
The overwhelming majority of stem cell scientists believe that to make the most rapid
progress against disease, researchers must use all the weapons in their arsenal. That
means using both embryonic and adult stem cells.

How long will it take for human embryonic stem cell research to yield medical
treatments?
We can’t say how long it will take to find new treatments for any specific disease using
embryonic stem cells. Biomedical research typically has a time frame of 10, 20, even 30
years. Fourteen years elapsed between the first unsuccessful clinical trial of bone marrow
transplantation and the first successful transplant among unrelated patients. Now bone
marrow transplants are widely touted as the best example of a successful stem cell
therapy.
Biomedical research takes a long time, but the sooner the research starts, the sooner it
will yield new insights and new treatments. If research were stopped by uncertainty, we
never would have developed blood transfusions, cardiac bypass surgery, insulin therapy
for diabetes, kidney dialysis, antibiotics, organ transplants and many other treatments we
now take for granted.
 Embryo and Fetus Definitions

What is an embryo in the context of stem cell research?

The embryos used for stem cell research are about the size of the period at the end of this
sentence. They are derived from four- and five-day-old embryos created through in vitro
fertilization. Embryos at this stage, called blastocysts, are spheres containing about 100
cells. They have no nervous system, no heart, and no specialized tissues. Many of the
cells are still undifferentiated, meaning they can become any type of cell in the human
body.

What is a fetus?
An embryo becomes a fetus about eight weeks into gestation, when specific tissues and
organs have started to form.

What happens to leftover embryos created for IVF?

Thousands of embryos that cannot be used for fertility treatment are discarded as medical
waste each year by IVF clinics. Embryos are discarded for a variety of reasons. Some do
not develop normally, while others are found to carry genetic defects that cause serious
disease. Some parents simply choose to discard leftover embryos when they are done
with fertility treatment. With the parents’ consent, embryos slated for disposal can be
used by researchers to derive embryonic stem cells.

Can leftover embryos be donated to other couples?

Yes. Parents can elect to donate unused embryos to others seeking fertility treatment, a
practice sometimes called embryo adoption. But few parents choose to do so. For every
embryo that is donated to others, more than 100 embryos are discarded. Currently, more
than 400,000 embryos are frozen in fertility clinics, and most will eventually be
discarded.
At the same time, fewer than 200 children have been born through the Snowflakes
Embryo Adoption Program since it was founded in 1997. There is no conflict between
embryo adoption and stem cell research, as it is up to parents to decide whether to donate
their unused embryos to others, to discard the embryos, or to donate them for medical
research.

Cloning
When discussing stem cells and cloning, it is important to distinguish between
reproductive cloning and what scientists call therapeutic cloning.

What is therapeutic cloning?

It’s a laboratory technique that uses somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) to make
embryonic stem cell lines. In SCNT, the nucleus of an unfertilized donor egg is extracted
and replaced with the nucleus from an adult cell, such as a skin cell. Given the proper
signals, the egg can be tricked into repeatedly dividing. The resulting nuclear transfer
product is allowed to develop for several days. Then some of the cells are removed and
placed in a laboratory culture dish, where they grow into an embryonic stem cell line that
can be used for research.
So far, this procedure has been accomplished in animals but not in humans.

What is reproductive cloning?

In reproductive cloning, SCNT is used to create a nuclear transfer product that is then
implanted into a uterus to generate a pregnancy. These nuclear transfer products rarely
develop normally and are rarely able to establish a pregnancy. Nonetheless, this is the
process used to create Dolly the famous cloned sheep — after hundreds of unsuccessful
attempts. A human being has never been cloned, and it is the overwhelming consensus
among U.S. scientists that human reproductive cloning should be banned.
Animal-cloning experiments demonstrate that reproductive cloning is unsafe:
Pregnancies are rare, and when they do occur they often produce abnormal or unhealthy
offspring. Most scientists believe that implanting an SCNT-derived product into a
woman’s uterus should be illegal.

Is therapeutic cloning or somatic cell nuclear transfer necessary in Michigan?

Until recently, nuclear transfer or therapeutic cloning was the only way that scientists
imagined it would be possible to derive patient-specific cell lines. But in the past year, it
became possible to derive patient-specific pluripotent lines by reprogramming adult
human cells, making so-called iPS cells. Given this change in the scientific landscape,
and given that it has never been possible to do nuclear transfer successfully with human
eggs, nobody in Michigan wants to pursue cloning. Nonetheless, iPS cells cannot replace
the derivation of ES cells because iPS cells could never be used in patients due to their
predisposition to cancer.

Public Opinion

Where does public opinion stand on stem cells?

Most Americans, regardless of their religious or political affiliation, support embryonic
stem cell research. A 2007 study published in Science surveyed infertility patients who
had embryos stored at fertility clinics. The study found 60 percent of the patients
expressed willingness to donate embryos for stem cell research, compared to 28 percent
who were willing to donate unused embryos to other patients seeking fertility treatment.

Ethics

What do you say to those who oppose embryonic stem cell research on moral
grounds?
We respect the values of people who hold this view. However, most Americans believe
this research can be conducted ethically. Many see it as a pro-life position because this
research has the potential to alleviate the suffering of thousands of people.
Federally Approved Stem Cell Lines

Why do you need to create new stem cells lines? What’s wrong with the stem cell
lines approved by the federal government?
U.S. scientists can use federal funding only for research using government-approved
embryonic stem cell lines, which were created on or before August 9, 2001. But most of
those lines, it was later determined, do not contain viable embryonic stem cells. And all
of them are contaminated with animal products. In addition, the approved lines don’t
carry the genetic defects that make it possible to model inherited human diseases.
Furthermore, it has recently been discovered that many of these embryonic stem cell lines
don’t come close to mirroring the diversity that’s present in American society or in
Michigan country.

Why is that important?

By growing embryonic stem cells that carry disease-causing genetic defects, scientists
hope to learn what goes wrong inside cells — and to test new drug candidates to combat
those diseases. Many believe this approach offers the best hope for treating diseases like
Alzheimer’s.
One of the fundamental principles of clinical trials is that we test new medicines in a
diverse patient population that mirrors the diversity that is present in our society. For
example, if we only test new medicines on white males, there would be a risk that we
would only develop medicines that work for white males.

Stem Cells: Myth vs. Fact

Myth
Adult stem cells are as useful as embryonic stem cells.
Fact
Embryonic stem cells have the ability to create any cell type in the human body. Adult
stem cells are more specialized; they generally make cells only from their tissue of origin.
Thus, embryonic stem cells can do things that adult stem cells cannot do. To maximize
the chances of discovering new cures, it is essential to pursue research on both embryonic
and adult stem cells.

Myth
We don’t need embryonic stem cell research because of the recent breakthrough enabling
scientists to “reprogram” human skin cells into cells that behave like embryonic stem
cells.
Fact
Scientists agree it is too early to assess the technique’s full potential and determine
whether the reprogrammed cells are functionally equivalent to embryonic stem cells. In
addition, the technique can cause mutations that predispose cells to cancer. As a result,
some scientists are concerned that the reprogrammed cells will never be suitable for use
in patients. For the foreseeable future, stem cell researchers agree that research should
continue along all avenues, using embryonic stem cells, adult stem cells, and
reprogrammed cells.
Myth
Adult stem cells have been proven effective in treating more than 70 diseases.
Fact
While adult stem cell research holds much promise, blood stem cells offer the only
proven adult stem cells therapies. The claim that adult stem cells have been used to cure
more than 70 diseases has been widely discredited.

Myth
Stem cells from amniotic fluid and umbilical cord blood can be used instead of
embryonic stem cells.
Fact
Amniotic fluid and umbilical cord blood contain adult stem cells. They hold promise for
therapy but do not have the properties or potential of embryonic stem cells.

Myth
The stem cell lines approved by the federal government provide an adequate source of
embryonic stem cells for research.
Fact
The approved stem cell lines were created on or before Aug. 9, 2001. Scientists later
determined that those lines are contaminated with animal proteins. In addition, none of
the approved lines was created to model human disease. Although President Bush
initially intended to make more than 70 federally approved lines available to scientists,
most of these lines turned out to be inadequately characterized, and only 16 such lines
remain. Furthermore, many of these lines come from a single clinic in Israel, thus they do
not mirror the ethnic and racial diversity in American society.

Myth
Religious people oppose embryonic stem cell research.
Fact
Some religious people are in opposition. Others believe that embryonic stem cell research
is pro-life and that it is immoral not to pursue this research, because of its potential to
reduce human suffering. Most religious traditions, including Judaism, Hinduism, Islam,
Buddhism, and some branches of Christianity do not consider embryonic stem cell
research to be immoral.

Myth
Embryonic stem cell research uses embryos that have begun to develop as babies.
Fact
Stem cells are derived from blastocysts that have only developed for about five days after
fertilization. The blastocysts used for this research develop entirely in laboratory dishes in
fertility clinics and are never implanted in a woman’s uterus. These early stage
embryos consist of about 100 cells and are the size of the period at the end of this
sentence. At this stage, the cells are undifferentiated: They have no nervous system, no
heart, no limbs and no specialized human tissues.
Myth
Embryonic stem cell research uses aborted fetuses.
Fact
There is no connection between abortion and human embryonic stem cells. By the time a
human embryo has implanted in the uterus, its cells have specialized to the point where
they can no longer be used for the derivation of embryonic stem cell lines.
The embryos used to derive stem cells are created in dishes in fertility clinics. They are
never transferred into the human body and are donated for medical research only when
parents decide they are no longer needed for fertility treatment.

Myth
Embryos discarded by fertility clinics could be donated to another family rather than
discarded or used for research.
Fact
Snowflake Children is a term used to describe some babies born from leftover IVF clinic
embryos donated to other infertility patients. But the Snowflakes Frozen Embryo
Adoption Program claims fewer than 200 births since it began in 1997. Meanwhile,
thousands of leftover embryos are discarded each year and more than 400,000 embryos
are currently frozen in fertility clinics; most will eventually be discarded.
Many embryos created for IVF are discarded because they do not develop normally or are
known to carry serious genetic abnormalities. Such embryos are not suitable for
implantation. But in the laboratory, these defective embryos could help researchers
understand genetically linked diseases and develop treatments for them.

Myth
Stem cell research is unregulated and unrestricted, thus paving the way for scientists to
go down a dangerous path.
Fact
This research is extensively regulated under federal laws (National Institutes of Health,
Food and Drug Administration, Institutional Review Boards, and more), and guidelines
from the National Academies and the International Society for Stem Cell Research. There
are additional restrictions being introduced in a Michigan ballot proposal. For example,
under this ballot proposal, embryos could not be bought or sold, could only be generated
for the purpose of fertility treatment, and then could only be used for stem cell research if
they could no longer be used for fertility treatment and were donated with the informed
consent of the donor.