Korea continues to be a source of amazing
developments in the field of regenerative medicine:
A
South Korean woman paralyzed for 20 years is walking again after scientists
say they repaired her damaged spine using stem cells derived from umbilical
cord blood.Hwang Mi-Soon, 37, had been bedridden since damaging her back in an accident
two decades ago.
Stem cells derived from umbilical cord blood are not completely undifferentiated
like embryonic stem cells. They are described as being "multipotent,"
meaning that they "are capable of forming a limited number of specialised
cell types." So these cells may not have quite the potential of embryonic
stem cells, but they have apparently already made good on one of the more outrageous
promises made on behalf of embryonic stem cells. And we learned
not too long ago that expectant mothers have been receiving this kind of stem
cell therapy all along. Perhaps most importantly, we can start harvesting and
doing work with these cells now, and skip the tiresome
debate.
After all, there is an abundant supply of umbilical cord blood, and no embryo
or fetus need be harmed in collecting it. One of the sticking points in the
current debate is that federal funds may be used for research on only a few
lines of embryonic stem cells. But even if these restrictions were removed,
there will still be vastly more potential cell lines to be derived from umbilical
cord blood than there would ever be from rejected embryos. Every pregnant woman
is potentially a source.