UK charity raises ethical concerns about funding stem cell research and the impact it will have upon ‘impressive results’ of adult stem cell research.

|TOP|Leading UK-based Christian charity CARE has expressed concern at the recent Council of Europe decision to continue funding of stem cell research for the next six years.

In particular, the charity was worried that it had been permitted for EU taxpayers’ cash to fund embryonic stem cell research where embryos already exist (often from IVF processes).

CARE revealed that there are more scientific results from adult stem cell research than research into embryonic stem cells, as it called for more funding to become available to expand research into adult stem cells.

Last week the Council of Europe dramatically decided to continue the funding of embryonic stem cell research, upon the condition of one major concession; new rules will stipulate that human cloning and the destruction of embryos will be banned.

CARE reveals that the Council of Europe decided that although no EU cash should be spent on projects where human embryos are created solely to be destroyed for research purposes, money from its £37 million science budget could be spent on embryonic stem cell research where these cells have been already extracted.

|QUOTE|The week saw Mr Bush, prior to the EU’s decision, use his presidential veto for the first time to defeat a bill in the US Senate that would have expanded federal funding of research using stem cells from human embryos created for this purpose.

Embryonic stem cells are able to transform into any cell types found in the body. Scientists believe that if they could find a way to control those cells and allow them to transform into becoming specific types on demand, they could potentially grow replacements for damaged tissue, which it is hoped may lead to cures for Parkinson’s disease among others.

Quadriplegic, author and speaker Joni Eareckson-Tada – who last year launched CARE’s ‘Life Valued’ initiative against euthanasia – was among the high-profile campaigners who gathered at the White House in support of Mr Bush’s veto.

In an official statement, she shared some stories of how adult stem cells (that are extracted ethically from a patient’s own tissue) are already being used to treat some serious conditions such as spinal cord damage, a punctured heart and cancer – with impressive results.

A wheelchair-bound teenager was able to move her foot and regained a significant amount of feeling in her back and legs, after receiving treatment from Portuguese specialist Dr Carlos Lima. He used stem cells extracted from the patient’s nose.

|AD|Other success stories include a teenager with a punctured heart who was healed through a stem cell transplant from his blood, and a young boy who was allegedly cured of cancer since receiving stem cells from his brother’s umbilical cord.

Dr Lima published his research in the ‘Journal Of Spinal Cord Medicine’. His work was also featured in a programme called ‘Innovation: Miracle Cell’ on America’s PBS television channel.

“Something is changing to give not just hope,” the specialist told his TV audience, “but to give function to patients with spinal cord injury. All of our patients have some kind of recovery.”

CARE’s General Director Nola Leach said, “CARE is greatly encouraged by these results and hopes that many more people will benefit from adult stem cell research development.

“The therapeutic use of adult stem cells in treating some of the most difficult and serious conditions, is no longer just the subject of numerous successful scientific studies - but is now providing real solutions for patients.

“This is in contrast to the research studies using embryonic stem cells that are consistently failing to provide therapeutic solutions, even on paper.”

She concluded, “We need to get the truth out. Adult stem cells – which are the body’s very own ‘repair cells’ - have already proved their effectiveness.”

Already a dedicated campaigner in this area, the Westminster-based CARE has stated its intentions to continue to lobby in Westminster and Brussels for more countries to implement the 2005 UN General Assembly Declaration and pass domestic legislation to ban all forms of human cloning (including human cloning for research purposes).

CARE is currently planning further educational events to raise awareness about embryo research and related issues in Britain’s Churches.