Democrats Offer False Hope

I said this a month ago: There are no instant answers to the problems of disease in the stem cells, and it is cold and callous to offer the false hope of quick cures. The Democrats both nationally and in Wisconsin are intentionally misleading the public about stem cell research and I find this disgusting. The public needs leadership willing to explain there are several types of stem cells and the therapeutic promise is from adult cell lines.

Have human embryonic stem cells been used successfully to treat any human diseases yet? The official answer from the National Institutes of Health.

Stem Cell FAQ: Scientists have only been able to do experiments with human embryonic stem cells (hESC) since 1998, when a group led by Dr. James Thomson at the University of Wisconsin developed a technique to isolate and grow the cells. Moreover, federal funds to support hESC research have only been available since August 9, 2001, when President Bush announced his decision on federal funding for hESC research. Because many academic researchers rely on federal funds to support their laboratories, they are just beginning to learn how to grow and use the cells. Thus, although hESC are thought to offer potential cures and therapies for many devastating diseases, research using them is still in its early stages.

Adult stem cells such as blood-forming stem cells in bone marrow (called hematopoietic stem cells, or HSCs) are currently the only type of stem cell commonly used to treat human diseases. Doctors have been transferring HSCs in bone marrow transplants for over 40 years. More advanced techniques of collecting, or "harvesting", HSCs are now used in order to treat leukemia, lymphoma and several inherited blood disorders. The clinical potential of adult stem cells has also been demonstrated in the treatment of other human diseases that include diabetes and advanced kidney cancer. However, these newer uses have involved studies with a very limited number of patients.

When the academic researcher who created human embryonic stem cell lines explicitly states there are no therapeutic benefits from this research in the foreseeable future, it should silence those politicians who are exploiting the sick for personal power.

Dr. James Thompson: The political process and the press have so hyped expectations that people expect to see these therapies in the next couple years. (That's) not going to happen. When anything brand new like this wants to enter the clinics, it takes a long time.

The Republican controlled government is funding research on existing human embryonic cells lines and it is a lie to say otherwise. Obviously there is research curiosity into the biochemical and genetic processes by which a single cell becomes a human being, but the diseases of individuals arise from the cells of those individuals, and effective treatments are much more likely from the adult stem cells already programmed to produce healthy replacements. No Republicans are calling for ending public or private funding in these areas of stem cell research.