I am at the “fringe” politically as a Mormon. And I am not sure what the stand is on embryonic stem cell research. But I just don’t get what people are thinking. Stem cell research is important. And we need more of it now. Maybe we ought to give people some sort of tax incentive for donating embryoes that they are just going to “throw away.” Every year thousands of embryoes are destroyed, for some reason or another (people don’t want them anymore, they don’t want their genetic child some where out there in the world). Why not put them to good use in helping to develop ways to help make the quality of life better for others. Yes, some people are adopting these embryoes and having kids with them, but that is just a small percentage. If you are not going to have kids with them and you are not going to give them to someone else to have kids with? They are doing what? Going to waste. Get smart people. [Yes, I have an extended family member who has MS so I am concerend about their quaility of life. Wouldn’t you be?] Get Educated

From National MS Society:

Stem cell therapy is not new</p> Some stem cells have been used successfully in medicine for almost 40 years. Bone marrow transplantation—which is a form of adult stem cell therapy—cures several forms of leukemia and anemia.

It is under investigation in MS, but the results are not compelling so far. (See News section, “Transplanted cells repair MS-like nerve damage in mice”.)

“Bone marrow transplantation, or more properly ‘hemopoietic stem cell transplantation’ (HSCT), involves a completely different therapeutic path than one for replacement of damaged brain cells,” said Dr. Stephen Reingold, director of the Society’s Research Programs. “It is an attempt to cure a disease by replacing a malfunctioning immune system with one that might function normally.”

The stem cells used for these procedures are harvested from a person’s own blood or bone marrow or sometimes from a donor, if a genetically compatible donor can be found. The concerns regarding other types of stem cells are not relevant to this therapy, since it uses adult stem cells. [Link]

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