Politics
Monday May 10, 2004
See today's LifeSiteNews stories
Umbilical Cord Blood Stem Cell Expert Says Designer Babies Not Necessary for Treatments
TORONTO, May 10, 2004 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The great curative properties of umbilical cord stem cells, the ethical and superabundant stem cells which have treated many disorders, are being unfairly tainted with ethically problematic genetic screening. In recent weeks scientists in Chicago announced that they are making designer babies for parents who have children in need of stem cell treatment. The scientists use IVF (in vitro fertilization) to create embryos and then PGD (pre-implantation genetic diagnosis) to weed out human embryos in search of a tissue match for the embryonic children's already-born siblings.
In an interview with LifeSiteNews.com Dr. Peter Hollands, the Scientific Director of Cells for Life, a private cord blood bank in Markham Ontario, said that the IVF and PGD procedures are not necessary to find tissue matches for patients in need of stem cell treatment. "Personally, I do not agree with the process," Dr. Hollands told LifeSiteNews.com. "If we focused more on collecting umbilical cord blood from most births and storing the samples in a public bank there would then be a suitable match for almost everyone. The 'designer babies' would then not be needed as the cord blood banks could easily support the demand for cells for transplantation."
Dr. Hollands, who holds a PhD in Stem Cell Biology from Cambridge University, noted that the designer baby experiments have also taken place in his native UK.
Dr Hollands stressed however, that in order to find tissue matches for everyone, umbilical cord blood should be harvested after most if not all deliveries in Canada. He said that while umbilical cord blood stem cells are easier to match than most stem cells, "ethnic minorities or just simply unlucky people do not get a match very easily." He concluded, "If we create a national Canadian cord blood bank, collecting samples from most of the deliveries in Canada, then we would have enough cells to treat everyone. This is our aim at Cells for Life and we are currently lobbying parliament on this subject."
See related LifeSiteNews.com coverage:
Chicago Lab Brings Five Babies to Birth for Spare Parts
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2004/may/04050604.html
Back to TopSHARE THIS STORY: E-mail Print Newsvine Digg Reddit Del.icio.us Facebook
Latest Headlines
- Canadian Bishops Consider Mass Mobilization for 2009 March for Life
- Heartland Christian Church Demands Peaceful Pro-Life LifeChain Participants Leave
- Bishop: Catholic Adoption Agencies Could Be Evicted for Defying Church Teaching on Homosexual Adoption
- New Jersey Bishop Persuades Princeton Catholic School to Disinvite Pro-Choice Former Gov. Whitman
- Firefighters' Lawsuit against City Over Forced Participation in Gay Pride Parade Ends in Mistrial
- Ruth Kelly's "Opposition" to HFE Bill Questioned by Pro-life Britons
- Knights of Columbus to 230,000 Canadian Members - Pro-Life is the Most Important Qualification for Candidates
- Obama's "Abortion Reduction" Rhetoric Called a "Brazen Scam"
- Congress Renews Federal Funding for Abstinence Education
- Bishop Reaffirms Support for California Marriage Amendment Following Dissent by Homosexual Priest
- Victory: Supreme Court Allows "Choose Life" License Plates in AZ
- Update: Obama Supporter Dr. Cafardi Resigns from Franciscan University Board
- Legislators Seek Abortion-on-Demand for Every State in Mexico
- Video Catches Planned Parenthood Covering Up Statutory Rape
- Kenyan Cardinal Blasts Attempt to Legalise Abortion
Most Read this Week
- Extreme Pro-Abortion Feminist Heather Mallick Scheduled to Speak at Catholic St. Mary's University
- Sarah Palin Speaks on Abortion, Contraception, Homosexuality
- Martin Sheen Stars in Ad Opposing Assisted Suicide in Washington State
- Abortion Patient of George Tiller Feared for Life: 'They're Liable to Kill Me'
- Bella Star Eduardo Saves Five Unborn Babies' Lives
- CBC Apologises for "Porn Star" Attack on Palin
- Russia: 64% of Pregnancies End in Abortion
- Catholic Magazine Calls For Defeat And Removal Of Prime Minister Harper
- Eduardo Verastegui Talks about Obama, Saving Babies Outside L.A. Abortion Clinic
- Swedish Man Awarded $24,170 Compensation after Filming Himself Having Sex with 14 Year-Old
MORE NEWS: 
LifeSiteNews.com Home Page Last 10 Days Archives Special Reports
Copyright © LifeSiteNews.com. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivatives License. You may republish this article or portions of it without request provided the content is not altered and it is clearly attributed to "LifeSiteNews.com". Any website publishing of complete or large portions of original LifeSiteNews articles MUST additionally include a live link to www.LifeSiteNews.com. The link is not required for excerpts. Republishing of articles on LifeSiteNews.com from other sources as noted is subject to the conditions of those sources.