Elizabeth Cohen: Ethics of stem cell research
July 17, 2001 Posted:  8:05 PM EDT (0005 GMT)
Elizabeth Cohen is a CNN medical correspondent
based in Atlanta, GA.

CNN: Good afternoon Elizabeth Cohen. Welcome to CNN.com
Newsroom.

COHEN: Hello everyone and welcome to the stem cell chat.

CNN: The president is considering federal funding
for embryonic stem cell research. Why is this issue is coming
to light at this time?

COHEN: What's driving this is that there are two very
passionate sides to this debate. On the one hand you
have people like Christopher Reeve and Michael J. Fox
who say stem cells could cure their diseases and
on the other side you have people who say no cure
is worth destroying a human embryo. And since
stem cells research at this point usually involves
an embryo or fetus, that's where you get the debate

CHAT PARTICIPANT: Is there a lot of misunderstanding
about what a stem cell is?

COHEN: Oh, yes. You better believe it. Just for my own education,
I've been asking people I know if they can tell me what a stem cell
is, and I get all sorts of answers. People know vaguely that they
have something to do with medical research, but they have
all sorts of misconceptions, such as that they derive
by definition from the brain stem, or that they somehow
exclusively are used to treat brain stem problems.

So, let's go over what they really are. They are essentially blank
cells that potentially can be turned into pretty much any type
of body tissue. So, for example, you could take a stem cell and
in the lab convert it to a cardiac muscle cell and inject it into
a heart that's been damaged by a heart attack, and the stem cells
could repair the damaged muscle.

CHAT PARTICIPANT: Isn't an embryo a conceived egg
and sperm looking for the wall of its mother's womb?

COHEN: Well, that all depends on how you look at it.
One major source of stem cells is embryos made in labs
for in vitro fertilization purposes and those embryos have
never seen the inside of a woman's uterus. They're in liquid
nitrogen because the infertile couple already had their child
and didn't need some of the leftover embryos.

CHAT PARTICIPANT: Elizabeth: Is there any way to separate
stem cell research from the abortion debate?

COHEN: You know, it's very interesting because several people
who are staunchly anti-abortion, such as Senator Orrin Hatch,
are pro stem cell research. I think it boils down to this: while
aborted fetuses have been sources of stem cells, they're not
the only source. You can also use the in vitro fertilization
embryos I mentioned earlier. There are also other sources,
such as bone marrow, that don't involve embryos or fetuses
at all, but it's unclear how medically useful those so called
"adult stem cells" are.

CHAT PARTICIPANT: Ms. Cohen, can you explain why
embryonic stem cells are the most hopeful course for research,
above other sources for research?

COHEN: First, let's make one thing clear: stem cells at this point
have not helped a single person.  Embryonic stem cells
are still in the animal testing stage -- so you are right
to use the word "promising." Scientists believe that stem cells
are so valuable because they're more than just a "fix" that your
typical drug would give. Stem cells, once converted into,
if you use my previous example, cardiac muscle actually become
part of the body. They replace cells in the body that have gone
wrong in some way

CHAT PARTICIPANT: If stem cells are able to regenerate,
then wouldn't it be possible to cultivate a large amount
of stem cells from just a small batch of embryos?

COHEN: Scientists simply don't know how many embryos
they need to get the full range of stem cells they say would
be needed to make various therapies. They say one embryo
is not enough because you need a wide range for "matching"
reasons. In other words, no one embryo would work
for all treatments for all people but these scientists have
also said that they don't need to harvest stem cells forever.
They think that at some point they could stop. I've heard
two years mentioned, but I don't think that's a magic number.

CHAT PARTICIPANT: So what does the opposition say
is morally wrong with doing stem cell research if it does not
interfere with the development of human life? What is their
reason to oppose it?

COHEN: Their reason to oppose it is because they say life
starts at conception whether that conception is done the
natural way or done in a petri dish in an IVF lab somewhere.
They say that these leftover IVF embryos frozen in labs
all over the country could at any time be implanted into
a woman's uterus and become a child and, in fact, have
pointed out that some infertile couples have adopted these
embryos and impregnated the wife and today have happy
healthy children.

CNN: Is the surplus of these embryos from in vitro procedures
enough so that they could be used both for adoption and
research?

COHEN: People who are against embryonic stem cell research
tell me that's not the point. There are many thousands
of these frozen IVF embryos sitting in labs, but for the people
who are against using embryos for research, it doesn't matter
if there's enough for adoption and research. For them even
using just one embryo for research is one too many.

CHAT PARTICIPANT: Aren't stem cells from the umbilical
cord also promising?

COHEN: Researchers are looking into using umbilical cord
stem cells others are looking into using bone marrow cells,
or even cells from fat tissue together. All these options
are called "adult stem cells." While some see this as the
better alternative to using embryos, we just did an interview
with an adult stem cell researcher who says embryonic
actually appear to be better and that you can't do one without
the other

CHAT PARTICIPANT: Will transplanted cardiac or nerve
cells created from embryonic stem cells have then same
rejection problems that researchers had with fetal tissue
research?

COHEN: You've identified one of the major areas that
researchers still need to figure out. There are various
immunological issues with embryonic stem cells. Again,
this research is still in its infancy. They're still on animals.
That is one benefit of using, for example, bone marrow
adult stem cells-- you'd be using your own bone marrow
so there's no rejection issues.

CNN: Do you have any final thoughts to share with us
today?

COHEN: I've been really struck by the emotions
on both sides of this issue. On the one hand, parents
of sick children can't believe that someone would deny
them a possible cure. On the other side, people can't
believe that anyone would destroy a human embryo that,
if implanted into a woman's uterus, could become a person.

CNN: Thank you for joining us today, Elizabeth Cohen.

COHEN: Bye, and great questions!

Elizabeth Cohen joined the chat from CNN Center in Atlanta, GA.
The above is an edited transcript of the interview
on Tuesday, July 17, 2001.

SOURCE: CNN.com
http://www.cnn.com/2001/HEALTH/07/17/cohen.otsc/index.html

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