THIRTY-TWO years ago this past Saturday marks the tragic anniversary of the Supreme Court's decision in Roe v. Wade. This court case essentially overruled the will of the people of 46 states by voiding laws designed to protect life from the time of its natural beginning. Abortion, however, has brought with it a number of related issues. One of these issues is the utilization of fetal tissue and embryonic stem cells from abortions and unused embryos created in fertility clinics.
Unfortunately there is a lot of misinformation out there about the use of such stem cells. If one were to listen to John Kerry during the recent presidential campaign, it was easy to get the mistaken idea that stem cells could cure every illness known to man and that George W. Bush had them locked in a closet somewhere, but it is not that simple. The truth is that embryonic stem cells can only be acquired and utilized from an aborted fetus or an embryo created in a lab. More importantly, their actual medical promise has not yet been proven.
I attended a seminar put on by the Biomedical Engineering department, given by Adam J. Katz, a plastic surgeon at the Medical Center, who is working to develop effective treatments with adult stem cells. Katz explained that there are significant scientific problems regarding the use of embryonic stem cells. In addition to the obvious moral issues, Katz explained that sometimes the embryonic stem cells are simply "too good." Their ability to divide and reproduce quickly might alsobe their biggest downfall. Such stem cells, when injected into mice, can easily form a malignant tumor which grows out of control.
In addition to possible issues with malignancy, it is quite possible for stem cells to be rejected by their host like any other organ transplant. The possibility of a negative immune response in the case of transplants has truly set back the success rate greatly. Since embryonic stem cells suffer from this same possible pitfall, their use as some sort of cure-all is a much more distant vision.
Katz's research, however, presents an alternative to the unethical use of aborted infants or embryos created at fertility clinics. Katz has focused on the one tissue that humans can donate in large quantities, and will willingly do so -- fat. He, along with a number of collaborating doctors and scientists, has verified and extracted the presence of adult stem cells within standard human fat.
It appears that he has had some rather promising preliminary results in separating these cells and using them in mice with injuries. Among other things, Katz presented evidence of these cells migrating to the injured area of the brain of a mouse that suffered a stroke. Favorable results are being repeated in other labs throughout the world.
Quite frankly, this is the sort of research that, while still in the relatively early stages, we should be working to promote and fund. Katz has found a source of adult stem cells that is both abundant and genetically diverse. Many people would willingly donate fat, perhaps more willingly than people donate blood now. There are no ethical concerns, because in order for this research to occur, an unborn child does not have to be killed.
One important thing that was confusing about the debate on stem cells during the 2004 election was the legality of stem cell research. It was heavily implied by many Democrats that stem cell research was prohibited by the federal government. In fact, this is far from the truth. Private laboratories have been working on embryonic stem cell research for some time. In addition, President Bush opened up some federal funding for research in August 2001 on existing lines of stem cells.
Despite the entire ethical debate, adult stem cells are the only stem cells that have ever been used to actually treat a disease or condition in humans. Bone marrow-derived cells have been used with great success for many years. Adult stem cell research is showing significant promise within the scientific community, and we would be doing ourselves a disservice by not fully exploring this alternative. Instead of funding ethically questionable research, our government must act quickly to promote research similar to what is being done at our very own University.
Daniel Bagley is a Cavalier Daily associate editor. He can be reached at dbagley@cavalierdaily.com.
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