HUMAN STEM CELLS

Can President Bush's 2001 plan work?

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Can the president's plan work?

"Since 1996, federal law has prohibited the use of tax dollars to destroy human embryos. The Clinton administration, however, adopted rules saying federally funded scientists could conduct experiments on stem cell lines as long as they did not themselves participate in embryo destruction. Cells were to be derived from embryos destroyed with private money in private labs, then shipped to federally funded scientists for study. The government was on the verge of issuing its first stem cell grants when Bill Clinton left office." ₁

President George W. Bush initially banned stem cell research funding while his administration's policy was developed. On 2001-AUG-9, President Bush decided to allow limited future stem cell funding. He said the issue was "one of the most profound of our time." He decided to approve funding because stem cell research offered immense promise for the cure of diseases and disorders. But he said it was "important that we pay attention to the moral concerns of the new frontier." Research would be limited to what he said were 60 existing lines of stem cells that are already being cultured in labs. Government labs could not use stem cells that were obtained from embryos after AUG-9. President Bush said: "As I thought through this issue I kept returning to two fundamental questions. First, are these frozen embryos human life and therefore something precious to be protected? And second, if they're going to be destroyed anyway, shouldn't they be used for a greater good, for research that has the potential to save and improve other lives?" ₂

A number of scientists who were interviewed expressed confusion over Bush's statement that there are 60 existing stem cell lines. They believed that there are perhaps only about a dozen lines. Some are owned by private labs and are unlikely to make them available to government research programs. "Even specialists in the field had been unaware there were more than 10 or 15 lines." ₃ "The National Institutes of Health has yet to produce information about the lines or their producers, feeding speculation that many of those 60 do not exist, are of poor quality or are under such tight commercial control as to make them unattractive to researchers hoping to study and perhaps profit from them." ₁ The Washington Post and other news organizations have compiled their own lists of stem cell lines. None have come up with more than 23. However, on 2001-AUG-27, the National Institutes of Health stated that they had found 64 cell lines from "genetically diverse" embryos. However, according to USA Today, "As many as 30 cell lines don't show all of the chemical and biological characteristics needed for the widest possible use." ₄ They are located in laboratories around the world: 24 lines in two Swedish labs, 20 lines in four U.S. labs, 10 lines in two Indian labs, 6 lines in one Australian lab, and 4 lines in  one Israeli lab. All lines were derived from embryos that meet President Bush's criteria.

Researchers have many other concerns:

It seemed obvious that the President's policy was only a stop-gap measure. Sooner or later, the existing stem cell lines will be exhausted, and government research will have to grind to a stop, unless the extraction of new stem cells are allowed. Paul Elias of the Associated Press interviewed stem cell researchers one year after the President's decision. He reported that researchers complained: "An overwhelming majority of the stem cells the Bush administrated approved are in poor condition and useless for research." ₇ In the meantime, some restricted research can proceed. But if new cures or treatments are developed, they may not be useable by some racial minorities.

Germany follows suit:

After several years of debate, the German government passed a law which is similar to President Bush's regulation. The law permits imports of stem cells produced before 2002-JAN-1 for projects of "overwhelming significance" where no other research method can be used. The first permit was issued to the University of Bonn on 2002-DEC-20. Cells will will be used for research into Parkinson's and other currently incurable diseases. Oliver Bruestle, a neurobiologist at the University, said: "I am very happy and relieved that everything came together this yea. I have waited more than two years." He plans to start research in 2003-JAN. There is a narrow window of opportunity during which such stem cells will be useable. Probably by the end of 2004, all stem cells that can be imported under this law will be useless for research. ₉

President Bush's decision, revisited:

A year after President Bush's decision to limit studies to a small number of stem cell lines, most of those lines had "crashed" and become useless for research. By the end of 2002, only about a dozen of the original 78 stem cell colonies worldwide were "...in good enough shape to use in experiments. Even fewer — perhaps four lines — are being routinely shared and sent to other researchers interested in breaking into the field." ₁₀

During 2005-MAY, when a stem cell bill was being debated in congress, some commentators were quoting researchers as saying that none of the stem cell lines were usable for research.

"To limit researchers to 60 cell lines, critics say, is like telling mathematicians they can pursue their studies but they can never use numbers bigger than 10. 'I think it's a ridiculous policy,' said George Daley, a leading stem cell researcher at the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research in Cambridge," MA. Evan Snyder, another stem cell expert at the Harvard Medical School, called Bush's approach 'scientifically naive.' " ₁

In late 2005-JUL, Bill Frist (R-TN), the Senate Majority Leader, surprised religious and social conservatives when he announced his support for modifying the president's policy. He noted that only 22 lines out of the 78 originally foreseen by the administration are still eligible for federal funding. Some of these are deteriorating and/or contaminated. He said: "the limitation put into place in 2001 will, over time, slow our ability to bring potential new treatments for certain diseases.... embryonic stem cells uniquely hold specific promise for some therapies and potential cures that adult stem cells just cannot provide.....It's not just a matter of faith, it's a matter of science." ₁₁

Gradual failure of the president's plan:

The president's restrictions on stem cell research only control the supply of cells to government-funded research programs. Most of those cells come from WiCell Research Institute Inc. of Madison, WI now called the National Stem Cell Bank (NSCB). These cell lines have been steadily degrading. Some have been reproducing for over eight years, and suffer from DNA damage. Of the over 60 lines that were available in 2001-AUG, only 22 were still useable five years later. Eventually, all will be useless.

However, Douglas Melton, 52, a biologist from Harvard University, started producing stem cells independently in 2003 using funding from the private Howard Hughes Medical Institute in Chevy Chase, MD. He was motivated by the news that two of his children were diagnosed with diabetes. The lines are shipped free to non-governmental research projects.

By mid 2006, 667 stem cell batches were supplied by Harvard; 246 came from the NSCB.

Larry Goldstein, a scientist at the University of California-San Diego noted that Harvard cells, which he obtained at no cost, were better. They divided more quickly than the $10,000 lot he received from the NSCB. He said: "We tend to vote with our feet. Among the lines we've tried, the best have been from Harvard. Those lines have been the most user-friendly.'' They are also relatively free of the genetic abnormalities that are frequently seen in NSCB lines.

Another problem with the NSCB stem cells is lack of ethnic diversity. They apparently came mainly from affluent white families. Genetic diversity is important if treatments are going to be developed that will function well for all humans.

Bloomberg reports:

"Researchers in China, Sweden, and Colombia have recently derived new cell lines, adding to the ethnic diversity of lines available internationally. Because of the Bush administration's restrictions, American scientists are unable to get government money to use any of them for research." ₁₂

References used in the above essay:

The following information sources were used to prepare and update the above essay. The hyperlinks are not necessarily still active today.

1. Ceci Connolly, et al., "Viability of stem cell plan doubted," Washington Post, 2001-AUG-20, Page A01. See: http://www.washingtonpost.com
2. Scott Lindlaw, "Bush allows some stem cell funding," Associated Press, 2001-AUG-9, at: http://www.washingtonpost.com/
3. Rick Weiss, "Stem cell policy eased by Bush decision," Washington Post, at: http://www.washingtonpost.com/
4. "Green light on stem cells," USAToday, at: http://www.usatoday.com/
5. "Charlene Laino, Tom Curry et al., "NIH identifies 64 stem cell colonies," MSNBC, at: http://www.msnbc.com/
6. Ceci Connolly & rick Weiss, "Stem cell colonies' viability unproven: Some in NIH list of 64 [lines] termed young, fragile," Washington Post, at: http://www.washingtonpost.com/
7. Paul Elias, "Stem cell work 'a mess'," Associated Press, 2002-AUG-11.
8. Justin gillis & Ceci Connolly, "Stem cell research faces DNA hurdle," Washington Post, 2001-AUG-24, at: http://www.washingtonpost.com
9. "Germany Clears Embryonic Stem Cell Import. Germany Issues First Permit to Import Human Embryo Cells for Research Under New Law," Associated Press, 2002-DEC-13. Online at: http://abcnews.go.com/wire
10. Paul Elias, "Stanford to Develop Human Stem Cells," Associated Press, 2002-DEC-11. Online at: http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?
11. "A Matter of Science," The Washington Post, 2005-JUL-30, at: http://www.camradvocacy.org/
12. "Harvard Stem Cells Favored Over Those Produced With U.S. Funds," Bloomberg, 2006-JUL-13, at: http://www.bloomberg.com/

Copyright © 1998 to 2006 by Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance
Latest update: 2006-JUL-13
Author: B.A. Robinson