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Irish Council for Bioethics Report on Destructive Embryo Research,... : 28th May 08
"Why is it then, that successes with adult stem cells have been largely ignored while embryonic stem cells, which have never been used successfully to treat a single human person, have been hailed as the 'gold standard'"
According to Eamon O'Dwyer,
Professor Emeritus of Obstetrics Gynaecology,
NUI Galway, writing in the "Irish Times", “the recent unanimous opinion of the Irish Council for Bioethics advocating that human embryos be used to generate human embryonic stem cells is most disappointing - not least because it is so ill-informed.”
He continued, “What true scientist, in the light of current knowledge, would attribute the "gold standard" to embryonic stem cells?
Two years ago, I had the privilege of participating in an international symposium on stem cell therapy in Rome. After three days of discussion involving experts, of different persuasions, from Europe, North and South America and Australasia, it was acknowledged that embryonic stem cells had no future in remedial medicine.
On the other hand, there was convincing evidence that adult stem cells derived from diverse tissue such as umbilical cord blood, mucous membrane, umbilical cord tissue, muscle and bone marrow - to mention some of the sources - have been effective and safe when used in the human subject.
For example, up to 2006, over 100 patients with acute coronary artery disease have been successfully treated, with regeneration of damaged myometrial muscle, using bone-marrow derived stem cells, at the Heinrich-Heine University at Dusseldorf, Germany.
Why is it then, that successes with adult stem cells have been largely ignored while embryonic stem cells, which have never been used successfully to treat a single human person, have been hailed as the "gold standard"?
As the production of embryonic stem cells involves the sacrifice of a human embryo, research on human embryos or their use in the production of embryonic stem cells has to be regarded as an affront to human dignity.
I fully support the views of the distinguished academics expressed in a letter of May 9th and hope that the Government will have the wisdom and determination to reject the opinion of the Irish Council for Bioethics.” The Irish Times. May 15. CLICK TO READ MORE.....
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