Cord blood stem cell research could be answer to medical, moral questions

By 49 News staff report

Sen. Sam Brownback called for further development of adult and cord blood stem cell research.

"These are in many cases therapies developed in the United States and are being done overseas," Sen. Brownback (R)-Kansas) said. "And people in the United States could benefit from them if they were done here."

Scientists believe the ability to replicate tissue through stem cells could lead to the development of ways to replace organs and treat life-threatening disease, like diabetes, heart disease, Parkinson's and Alzheimer's.

Learn more

Stem cell research is conducted at hospitals and research institutions throughout the country. The government has been struggling with this issue for years, because of the implications it has on religious and moral definitions of life. Learn more about the issue on the following Web sites:

National Institutes of Health Stem Cell Information site

The University of Madison-Wisconsin Stem Cells site

StemCellResearch.org

Supporters of cord blood research say it could potentially end the ethical debate over this type of research because the stem cells are taken from blood, rather than embryos.

Brownback recognizes the ethical debate.

His message is this: "it has never been acceptable to deliberately kill one innocent human being in order to help another. Life begins at the beginning at conception," according to the Senator's Web site.

CNN contributed to this story.

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