FROM: kaisernetwork.org Daily Reports.
Feb. 8, 2001
BIOETHICS & SCIENCE
"Red Cross Rejects First-Ever Federal Grant Devoted to Embryonic Stem
Cell Research, Citing Shift in Research Priorities
In an "unexpected twist," the American Red Cross yesterday turned down
what would have been the first federal grant to fund embryonic stem cell
research since President Bush's Aug. 9 decision to allow limited federal
funding for the research, the Los Angeles Times reports. After the NIH
approved the $50,000 grant, the Red Cross declined to accept the funding,
citing "new scientific priorities." Red Cross leukemia researcher Robert
Hawley had applied for the grant last summer to study the production of
blood stem cells. Jerry Squires, American Red Cross' chief scientific
officer, denied that the decision was an attempt to "avoid controversy
that might scare away donors," the Times reports (Zitner, Los Angeles
Times, 2/8). The Red Cross instead plans to focus on research involving
umbilical cord cells, which have already begun to be banked and used as
replacements for bone marrow transplants. "We need to focus on what we
can provide for our patients," Squires said. NIH Deputy Director of
Extramural Research Wendy Baldwin called the grant approval "a
significant action," although the Wall Street Journal says the Red Cross'
rejection is a "bump in the road" for NIH. The agency said it plans to
provide more than $4 million in funding for embryonic stem cell research
in 2002 (Regalado, Wall Street Journal, 2/8).
Reaction
Anthony Mazzaschi, assistant vice president for biomedical research at
the Association of American Medical Colleges, called the Red Cross'
decision to reject a requested grant "unusual," adding that the "winds
may have shifted at the Red Cross, but the needs of patients and
researchers to cure disease have not." The decision has prompted several
research groups to suggest that stem cell research is "too controversial"
for some research institutions. "I think you can assume from this
decision that the political debate has had a chilling effect on
scientific pursuits," Sean Tipton, a spokesperson for the American
Society for Reproductive Medicine, said, adding that "[i]f you depend on
funding from the goodwill of politicians or the goodwill of the public,
then you stay away from controversy" (Los Angeles Times, 2/8)."
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