1. By Ariane N. Davis
GOVERNMENT FUNDING VS.
PUBLIC AND PRIVATE FUNDING
FOR STEM CELL RESEARCH

2. Question:
Should stem cell research be funded by the
government or through public and private funding?

3. Stem Cells Research
 Embryonic cells have the ability to develop
into virtually any in the body, and they have
the potential to treat medical conditions such
as diabetes and Parkinson’s disease.

4. Stem Cell Research cont.
 Some have argued that adult stem cells (from
bone marrow or umbilical cord blood) should
be pursued instead of embryonic cells
because they believe the derivation of stem
cells form embryos is ethically unacceptable.

5. Stem Cell Research cont.
 Stem cells retain the ability to become some
or all of the more than 200 different cell types
in the body, and thereby play a critical role in
repairing organs and body tissues throughout
life.

6. Stem Cell research cont.
 Embryonic stem cells may have a greater
ability to become different types of body cells
than adult stem cells.

7. Embryonic stem cells from
IVF Embryos or fetal tissue
 Embryonic stem cells were first isolated from
mouse embryos in 1981 and from primate
embryos in 1995.
 Animal embryos were the only source for
research on embryonic stem cells until
November 1998.
 The cells were derived from five day old
embryos produced via in vitro fertilization.
(IVF)

8. Cont.
 This work is controversial because the stem
cells are located within the embryo and the
proce3ss of removing them destroys the
embryo.
 The cells have also been derived from the
properties from five-to nine week old
embryos or from fetuses obtained through
elective abortion .

9. Embryonic Stem Cells
Obtained via SCNT (Cloning)
 Another potential source of embryonic stem
cells is somatic cell nuclear transfer
(SCNT), also referred to as cloning.
 Stem cells derived from cloned embryos may
offer the best hope for understanding and
treating disease.
 The nucleus of the egg is removed and
replaced by the nucleus from a mature body
cell, such as a skin cell from a patient.

10. Stem Cells from Adult Tissue
or Umbilical Cord Blood
 A January 2007 report found cells can be
found in amniotic fluid.

11. Potential Applications of
Stem Cell Research
 Stem cells provide the opportunity to study
the growth and differentiation of individual
cells in tissues. Understanding these
processes could provide insights into the
causes of birth defects, genetic
abnormalities, and other disease states.
 If normal development were better
understood, it might be possible to prevent or
correct some of these conditions.

12. Cont.
 Stem cells can be used to produce large
amounts of one cell type, to test new drugs
for effectiveness and chemicals and toxicity.
 Stem cells might be transplanted into the
body and treat disease (diabetes, Parkinson’s
disease) or injury (e.g., spinal cord)

13. Current Regulations
 The Dickey Amendment
Prior to an August 2001 Bush Administration
decision, no federal funds had been used to
support research on stem cells derived from
either human embryos or fetal tissue.

14. Cont.
 Under the admendment
 (a) None of the funds made under the Dickey
Act may be used for…….
(1) The creation of a human embryo or embryos
for research purposes; or
(2) research in which a human embryo or
embryos are destroyed or discarded, or
knowingly subjected to risk or injury or
death greater than that allowed for research
on fetuses in utero.

15. Cont.
 (b) For purposes of this section, the term
‘embryo or embryos’ includes any organism,
not protected as a human under 45 CFR [the
Human Subject Protection regulations} as of
the date of enactment of this Act, that is
derived by fertilization, parthenogenesis,
cloning or any other means from one or more
human gametes [sperm or egg] or human
diploid cells {cells that have two sets of
chromosomes, such as somatic cells]

16. Peter Griffin visits stem
cell research lab
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=pla
yer_detailpage&v=TRtlkcQ6brE

17. Administration Policies
Clinton Administration Stem Bush Adminstration Stem Cell
cell Policy Policy
 Research in which human stem cells are  On August 9,2001, President Bush
utilized to create or contribute to a human announced for the first time
embryo
federal funds would be used to
 Research in which human cells are
combined with an animal embryo support research on embryonic
stem cells, but funding would be
 Research in which human stem cells are
used for reproductive cloning of a human limited to “existing stem cell lines
where life and death decisions had
 Research in which human stem cells are
derived using somatic cell nuclear transfer already been made.
 Research utilizing human stem cells that  (1) with the informed consent of
were derived using somatic cell nuclear donors
transfer
 Research utilizing stem cells that were
 (2) from excess embryos created
derived from human embryos created for solely for reproductive purposes
research purposes, rather than for infertility  (3) without any financial
treatment.
inducements to the donors.

18. Federal Funds
 Federal Funds would not be used for:
 (1) the derivation or use of stem cell lines
derived from newly destroyed embryos.
 (2) the creation of any human embryos for
research purposes
 (3) the cloning of human embryos for any
purpose.

19. Regulation of Stem Cell
Research
NIH Research funding and
FDA Regulation Stem Cell Registry.
 The FDA defines
“xenotransplantation” as any
procedure that involves the
tranpltation, implantation, or infusion
into a human recipient of either
 (a) live cells, tissues, or organs from a
nonhuman source
 (b) human body fluids, cells, tissues or
organs that have had ex vivo contact
with nonhuman animal cells, tissues or
organs.
 Under FDA guidelines, transplantation
therapy involving Bush approved stem
cell lines, which have all been exposed
to mouse feeder cells, would
constitute xenotransplantation.

20. Private vs. Public Funding
Public Funding Private Funding
 Public funding can
contribute to sound policy
by increasing the
probability that the results
of stem cell research will
reflect social priorities that
may not inform research in
the private sector.

21. Private vs. Public Funding
cont.
Public Funding
 Many Americans including
children are excluded from
the U.S. health care system.
Public funding offer the best
hope of fostering public
consideration for common
good, rather than
marketplace concerns, and of
expanding access to the fruits
of stem cell research for a
large number of Americans.

22. Private vs. Public Funding
cont.
Public
 Stem cell research is more
likely to advance if canonical
genetic stokes of ES cells are
made available to the
scientific community. Public
funding under the auspices of
federal agencies is the only
effective means for ensuring
equal access by scientists to
standardized ES cell lines

23. Federal Funding
 The federal government is the only realistic
source for such an infusion of funds.
 The government can strictly monitor the
practices of public research through federal
funding.