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ATTITUDES TO THE USE OF STEM CELLS A huge survery was carried out in 15 countries on the knowledge of stem cell therapy and the attitudes to it, in: Austria, Czech Republic, Germany, Denmark, Spain, France, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, United Kingdom, Sweden, U.S.A., Japan and Israel. The most knowledgeable were those in Sweden and Denmark, where 86% knew of stem cell research. Less than 45% of those in Poland, Austria, Israel and Japan even knew of it. Only about 40% to 50% of people had any real understanding of it. There was an even poorer understanding of how stem cells are extracted and the implications for the embryo, with U.S.A. at only 30%, being the most knowledegable. In most countries stem cell research was viewed as useful. However, there were considerable reservations about the risk of moral dilemnas. The Danish and Dutch believed there to the least risk. Americans, Austrians and Japanese were at the other extreme. Views regarding the morality of the use of stem cells differed a lot. It was viewed as immoral by a majority in the U.S.A., Austria, Germany, Poland, Japan, and Israel. Those countries disagreeing most with the claims of immorality were Denmark, Spain, the United Kingdom, and Italy. Possible medical benefits were considered more important than the rights of the embryo in Spain, the Czech Republic, Sweden, Denmark, France and the Netherlands. The rights of the embryos were considered more important in the U.S.A., Austria, Ireland, Germany, Poland, Japan and Israel. People in most countries accepted the use of spare embryos left over from fertility treatments more than the use of embryos created specifically for research. Most countries are against the use of hybrid embryos, mostly because of the fear that the technique could get out of control and because it could lead to dangerous uses. For more information go to the Complete article. Rayilyn Brown Board Member AZNPF Arizona Chapter National Parkinson's Foundation [log in to unmask] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn