US sets up national stem-cell bank

The University of Wisconsin will host the first federally funded bank of the valuable cells, according to the U.S. government. The National Institutes of Health announced the presence of many of the officially sanctioned batches of human embryonic stem cells.

The National Institutes of Health stated that "The National Stem Cell Bank, awarded to the WiCell Research Institute in Wisconsin, will consolidate many of the federally funded eligible human embryonic stem (ES) cell lines in one location, reduce the costs that researchers have to pay for the cells, and maintain quality control over the cells."

Two centers for embryonic stem-cell research will also be found, at the University of California, Davis and Northwestern University in Chicago. Stem cells offer the potential for tailored tissue and organ transplants and new understandings of disease and could transform both medicine and basic biological research. It is beleived that there are several sources, including those cells taken from days-old human embryos but people still disagree with the use of embryonic stem cells, saying a human life must be destroyed to grow the cells.

President George W. Bush announced in August 2001 that federal funds could be used to study only those batches, or lines, of human embryonic stem cells that already existed at the time.

Members of Congress supporting the expanding of federal funding of embryonic stem cells said the move to establish the research centers was not enough though. Colorado Democratic Rep. Diana DeGette, who supports expanded federal funding of stem-cell research explained that "the reality is that the best way to jump start embryonic stem cell research in this country ... is to expand the federal policy so scientists have access to the most technologically advanced, cleanest, genetically diverse and disease specific lines possible."

Dr. James Thomson of WiCell, who first found human embryonic stem cells in 1998, will help head the stem-cell bank. He agreeded that "although the creation of this center is very important, I hope that NIH will ultimately decide to fund additional similar centers across the United States to support this rapidly expanding field."

The NIH earmarked $16.1 million over four years for the stem cell bank and $9.6 million for the research centers.

NIH Director Dr. Elias Zerhouni concluded: "This resource will enable us to fully analyze, characterize and control the quality of approved cell lines."

US national stem-cell bank