US says researchers can use existing stem cell batches

WASHINGTON - The US government said on Wednesday it was creating a bank to distribute stem cells but would not alter its opposition to destroying human embryos to harvest new cells.

The announcement was unlikely to end a debate between people who say that the government is stifling a promising avenue of research and those who say that creating embryonic stem cells is tantamount to murder.

Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson wrote in a letter to lawmakers that the government stood firm on its policy that taxpayers who oppose destroying human embryos should not be forced to pay for it.

"The National Institutes of Health will create a National Embryonic Stem Cell Bank that will provide a ready source of human embryonic stem cells to scientists, ensure consistent quality of the lines and provide other technical support that will make it easier for scientists to use federally approved stem cells," he wrote.

In August 2001 US President George W Bush said he was restricting the use of federal funds for embryonic stem cell research to batches, called cell lines, that existed at that time. Private researchers may still do whatever they like but scientists using federal funds can only work on those existing lines.

Embryonic stem cells, taken from days-old human embryos, have the potential to form any kind of tissue in the body. Medical researchers hope to learn to use them to create tailor-made transplants to treat cancer, Parkinson's, spinal cord injuries and other ills.

But because an embryo is destroyed to derive them, some anti-abortion groups oppose their use.

They wish to focus efforts on so-called adult stem cells found circulating in the body, which scientists say have potential but not as much as embryonic cells.

Supporters of embryonic stem cell research say those existing lines are not enough to do the study needed.

Both the US House of Representatives and Senate are pressing for a change in Bush's policy to at least allow work to go ahead using embryos left over from attempts to conceive babies in fertility clinics -- embryos slated for destruction.

Thompson said it was too soon to do that. "Before anyone can successfully argue that the stem cell policy should be broadened, we must first exhaust the potential of the stem cell lines made available within the policy, as well as the ability of the private sector to go beyond the policy," he wrote.

He said the NIH would also create three centres to work on stem cells using US$18 million ($27.7m) in funding over the next four years.

"The idea of creating a national stem cell bank is a useful, albeit, small step forward," said Delaware Republican Rep. Mike Castle.

"The current stem cell lines are of an inadequate quality and consistency for researchers," added Rep. Diana DeGette, a Colorado Democrat who has worked with Castle on the issue. "No one should mistake this announcement for a positive change in policy."

The Coalition for the Advancement of Medical Research, created to advocate for stem cell research, called the move "wholly inadequate".

"The federal government must allow American scientists to create and utilise the best stem cell lines available. Otherwise, American science will continue to fall behind and American patients will continue to suffer," said CAMR's Daniel Perry.

- REUTERS