Scotland benefits from our SC stall

[rayilynlee <rayilynlee@xxxxxxx>]

Scotland benefits from our stem-cell reluctance
BY MARILYN ROBERTSON

Regarding Congress' embryonic stem cell research bill ("Bush vetoes lifting
of stem-cell limits," June 21) and the ongoing debate over the benefits of
stem cell research, it is worth revisiting how stem cells provide so much
promise to so many in the treatment of a broad range of health conditions.
It is somewhat ironic, then, to see the promise of this research so hotly
contested by stubbornness and politics. Here in Scotland, we boast a
three-way academic, commercial and government relationship that is dedicated
to finding cures. We have found that unfettered stem cell research has
brought us to the very forefront in the life science field. We can only
wonder then at how much faster progress could be if the world's most dynamic
economy and global leader in health research could clear these political
hurdles.
I do not mean to trivialize the very real moral concerns about stem cell
research. In Scotland, our regulators and clinical "Good Manufacturing
Practices" covering the donation and use of embryos in this research address
these concerns, but allow vital research to proceed. It is for that reason
that Roslin Cells, a not-for-profit company, has been able to create
therapeutic grade human embryo stem cells.

Even though billions of dollars of stem cell research is conducted annually
in the United States with the support of private or state-level funding, it
is clear that the overall hostile climate exemplified by the federal ban has
had worldwide resonance.

The collaboration between Geron Corp. and the University of Edinburgh to
conduct preclinical safety and efficacy studies with three cell types
derived from human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) may have been done in the
United States, absent the controversy. For that the Scottish research
community can be grateful.

However, the absence of U.S. leadership also provides an unintended opening
for fraudulent science from less well-regulated labs in other parts of the
world. Often, these false scientists exploit the dreams of victims of
paralysis and other heartbreaking conditions, and their crimes cast a pall
all over legitimate efforts as well.
With a much smaller base from which to start, Scotland has built a
world-class presence in stem cell research that has led to multiple
breakthroughs - the first steps to helping patients. We welcome competition
from the United States and look forward to a day when patients are put
before politics there, as they are in Scotland.
Marilyn Robertson, Ph.D., is Executive Director of the Scottish Stem Cell
Network in Edinburgh, Scotland (http://www.sscn.co.uk/).

Rayilyn Brown
Board Member AZNPF
Arizona Chapter National Parkinson's Foundation
rbrown@xxxxxxxxx

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