Look to Mayo for stem cell answers

Rosemary Colbert questions the veracity of my earlier statement that Adult Stem Cell Research is better than Embryonic Cell Research, since I am not a scientist or medical researcher. She is right, I am neither. I am simply an individual who reveres the sacredness of life.

Mayo Clinic on the other hand has both, scientists and medical researchers and these are their findings:

Adult Stem Cell Advantages: They are easy to procure and harvest. They are present within various tissues and organ systems - the bone marrow, liver, skin, retina, skeletal muscle, intestine, brain, dental pulp, and elsewhere. Even fat obtained from liposuction has been shown to contain significant numbers of adult type stem cells. Also readily available are umbilical and placental stem cells. Even cadavers have them. Neural stem cells have been removed from specific areas in post-mortem human brains as late as 20 hours following death. Adult stems cells are non-tumorigenic-tend not to form tumors. Not immunogenic-recipients who receive the products of their own stem cells will not experience immune rejection. And most importantly, there is no harm done to the donor.

Embryonic Stem Cell Disadvantages: They are difficult to differentiate uniformly and homogeneously into a target tissue. Researchers, for instance, don't want to transplant a stem cell into a person hoping it'll become a heart cell only to learn that it's become a bone cell, with dangerous consequences. They are immunogenic-ES cells from a random embryo donor are likely to be rejected after transplantation. They are tumorigenic-capable of forming tumors or promoting tumor formation... and most importantly- the harvesting of these cells destroys a human life. We are so mired in our death culture, that we no longer see the very obvious advantage of saving a human life. We even go as far as asking for scientific proof as to why we should not destroy it.

Barbara Wroblewski

Wheeling