Stem-cell research must use fertility-clinic embryos, government says

April 18, 2009 at 12:00a.m.

WASHINGTON (AP) — When President Barack Obama eased limits on taxpayer-funded embryonic stem-cell research, the big question became how far scientists could go. On Friday, the government answered: They must use cells culled from fertility-clinic embryos that otherwise would be thrown away.

Draft guidelines released by the National Institutes of Health reflect rules with broad congressional support, excluding more controversial sources such as cells derived from embryos created just for experiments.

“We think this will be a huge boost for the science,” said Acting NIH Director Raynard Kington. “This was the right policy for the agency at this point in time.”

The limit will disappoint some researchers who wanted to use a broader variety of cells. But it still means that perhaps hundreds more stem-cell lines will be available for government-funded study soon.

The guidelines are “a reasonable compromise based on where the science stands now,” said Dr. Sean Morrison, director of the University of Michigan Center for Stem Cell Biology. “We may need to revisit some of the details down the road depending on how the science develops.”

Scientists are trying to harness embryonic stem cells — master cells that can morph into any cell of the body — to one day create replacement tissues and better treat, possibly even cure, ailments ranging from diabetes to Parkinson’s to spinal-cord injury.

Culling those stem cells — which can propagate indefinitely in lab dishes — destroys a days-old embryo, a result strongly opposed by many on moral grounds. So the Bush administration had limited taxpayer-supported research to a small number of embryonic stem cell “lines” or groups already in existence as of August 2001.

Last month, Obama lifted that restriction, widening the field. But he left it to the NIH to set ethics guidelines determining which cell lines now will qualify for government funding.

Federal law forbids using taxpayer money to create or destroy an embryo. At issue here are rules for working with cells that initially were created using private money.