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INTERVIEW: HUMAN EMBRYONIC STEM CELL RESEARCH: GEN's Editor-in-Chief John Sterling interviews William Caldwell, CEO of Advanced Cell Technology.
Despite the threat of a veto by President Bush, the U.S. Senate voted yesterday to loosen restrictions on federally funded human embryonic stem cell research. The Senate’s move was the latest salvo in the ongoing political battle that pits those supporting the use of government money for such research against those who do not.
This week's podcast interviewee, William Caldwell, the CEO of Advanced Cell Technology, runs a company navigating its way through this often controversial issue. Mr. Caldwell discusses how the firm is applying human embryonic stem (ES) cell technology in the field of regenerative medicine with the goal of bringing effective, patient-specific therapies to the bedside. He talks about the main challenges of translating human ES cell and nuclear transfer technology into novel therapeutic products and identifies what will be the probable first medical applications of human ES cells. Mr. Caldwell also explains why human ES cells, adult stem cells, and cord blood stem cells all need to be explored as potential therapeutics rather than as either/or propositions.
Be sure to listen to this important and very timely podcast then return the the blog and give your thoughts on the following question:
Should proponents of human embryonic stem cell research try to change the minds of people who consider an early-stage human blastula an actual person, or just focus their efforts on strengthening support for this research wherever it can be found?
4/13/2007
Proponents of hESC research should advocate for the long-term vision of regenerative medicine: An individual’s own stem cell bank derived from a single cell of their early blastocyst (nearly identical to the technique used currently for pre-implantation diagnosis at IVF clinics), although this method may not avoid the moral dilemma of creating excess embryos. Despite the Klimanskaya et al. publication (Nature, 2006) which applied PGD techniques to isolate a stem cell line without destroying the viability of the embryo, as William Caldwell stated it seems unlikely that the moral pressure will return to IVF clinics. Therefore, it behooves hESC proponents to strengthen support wherever found, although the rush to bring hESC therapies to the clinic should be approached cautiously—lest the first applications yield negative outcomes and the industry face immense challenges similar to those that continue to plague genetic therapy. If and when hESC therapies yield positive, reliable outcomes, a groundswell of support will follow and the controversy will be a distant memory.
5/8/2007
Change the minds of true believers? Not likely. They have shut their minds to reality.
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