WASHINGTON — The University of Wisconsin, where human embryonic stem cells were first isolated, will host the first federally funded bank of the valuable cells, the U.S. government said on Monday.
The bank will house many of the officially sanctioned batches of human embryonic stem cells, the National Institutes of Health said.
"The National Stem Cell Bank, awarded to the WiCell Research Institute in Wisconsin, will consolidate many of the federally funded eligible human embryonic stem (ES) cell lines in one location, reduce the costs that researchers have to pay for the cells, and maintain quality control over the cells," the NIH said in a statement.
The NIH also said it would fund two centers, at the University of California, Davis and Northwestern University in Chicago, for embryonic stem-cell research.
However, some advocates of stem-cell research said the steps fall short of what is needed.
Scientists say stem cells could transform both medicine and basic biological research, offering the potential for tailored tissue and organ transplants and new understandings of disease.
Many believe there could be several sources, including those cells taken from days-old human embryos. But some people oppose the use of embryonic stem cells, saying a human life must be destroyed to grow the cells.
President George W. Bush announced with a compromise in August of 2001, saying federal funds could be used to study only those batches, or lines, of human embryonic stem cells that already existed at the time.
The Wisconsin center will care for and distribute many of these.
Many scientists have complained that these cell lines are now outdated and hard to work with, and there is a debate over what kinds of research they might be useful for.
Members of Congress who support expanding federal funding of embryonic stem cells said the move to establish the research centers was not enough.
"The reality is that the best way to jump start embryonic stem cell research in this country … is to expand the federal policy so scientists have access to the most technologically advanced, cleanest, genetically diverse and disease specific lines possible," said Colorado Democratic Rep. Diana DeGette, who supports expanded federal funding of stem-cell research.
Dr. James Thomson of WiCell, who first found human embryonic stem cells in 1998 and who will help head the stem-cell bank, agreed.
"Although the creation of this center is very important, I hope that NIH will ultimately decide to fund additional similar centers across the United States to support this rapidly expanding field," Thomson said in a statement.
The NIH earmarked $16.1 million over four years for the stem cell bank and $9.6 million for the research centers.
"This resource will enable us to fully analyze, characterize and control the quality of approved cell lines," NIH Director Dr. Elias Zerhouni said in a statement.
Source: REUTERS/By Maggie Fox, Health and Science Correspondent
