Stem Cell Breakthrough

The prospect of using stem cells to treat tragic diseases, such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, is gradually becoming more of a reality, as the field of stem cell research has taken a dramatic leap forward this past week.

Dr. Thomson’s laboratory at the University of Wisconsin was one of two that in 1998 plucked stem cells from human embryos for the first time, destroying the embryos in the process and touching off a divisive national debate.

And on Tuesday, his laboratory was one of two that reported a new way to turn ordinary human skin cells into what appear to be embryonic stem cells without ever using a human embryo.

The fact is, Dr. Thomson said in an interview, he had ethical concerns about embryonic research from the outset, even though he knew that such research offered insights into human development and the potential for powerful new treatments for disease.

“If human embryonic stem cell research does not make you at least a little bit uncomfortable, you have not thought about it enough,” he said. “I thought long and hard about whether I would do it.”

He decided in the end to go ahead, reasoning that the work was important and that he was using embryos from fertility clinics that would have been destroyed otherwise. The couples whose sperm and eggs were used to create the embryos had said they no longer wanted them. Nonetheless, Dr. Thomson said, announcing that he had obtained human embryonic stem cells was “scary,” adding, “It was not known how it would be received.”

Indeed, Dr. Thomson did not anticipate that his experimentation with embryonic stem cells would engender the massive political debate that it did. However, now that he has made advances in extracting those cells without damaging human embryos, the debate has once again ignited and intensified rather than subsided. According to the Wall Street Journal,

The studies have already reignited a debate in Washington about funding of human embryo research, a subject sure to be an issue in the presidential contest. They are likely to bolster the cause of those who oppose embryo research, yet accelerate the pace of stem-cell research as scientists rush to build on the new approach.

While the Bush administration is saying "I told you so"-- claiming it had always known that there had to have been an alternative method of extracting stem cells that adhered to ethical and moral guidelines -- Democrats and supporters of embryonic research claim that while this is a major step towards curing diseases, we should consider all possible options.

This is likely to become a major issue in the 2008 presidential election now, in addition to Iraq, national security and health care. But all politics aside, I think this step towards curing disease is a milestone that can give us all a reason to be thankful this Thanksgiving.