Stem cell research and ethics: an update.

S tem cell therapies are not new. Bone marrow stem cell transplants have been performed for decades with much of the general public unaware that this is, in fact, a stem cell therapy. While the use of adult-derived stem cells and storage of cord blood has caused little debate, it is only since 1998 1 when researchers first learnt how to remove stem cells from human embryos that controversy has ensued. Embryonic stem (ES) cells, being pluripotent, have the potential to form all types of cells, and, therefore, have a huge potential in curing human disease. Research using human ES cells could help to better understand early human development, be used to research possible toxic effects of drugs (drug-screening) and, most importantly, be used in the field of regenerative medicine in the development of cell replacement therapies. However, both political and religious leaders have discussed the moral implications of destroying human embryos. In 2001 in the US there was a restriction on funding for ES cell research by President George Bush. President Bush stated that federal funds could only be used for research on human embryonic stem cell lines that had already been established, preventing researchers from creating more. However, this did not inhibit researchers receiving private funding. President Barack Obama went on to lift the ban in 2009. At the core of the ES cell issue is the question: when does life begin? 2 This question closely links to debates over abortion and with the " pro-life " movement. However, even this debate is not uniform as while some oppose abortion and the use of human ES cells, others oppose abortion but support stem cell research using frozen embryos that remain after a woman or couple has completed infertility treatment, citing the " lesser of two evils " argument. The debate about stem cells is also a religious one. As Rana Dajani 3 explained in her editorial, discussions in Jordan concluded that stem-cell research is permissible in Islam providing it is carried out to improve human health, since Muslim scholars consider life to start 40–120 days after conception. Denominations of the Christian faith, including Roman Catholics and Orthodox Christians, believe that the embryo has a status of a human individual from conception and therefore any decisions/ interventions not in favor of the embryo violates the right of the embryo to life. 4 Understandably, such conclusions are not easy to …