Feds Admit Stem Cell Ignorance The Associated Press, Thu 6 Sep 2001
WASHINGTON (AP) — Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson said Thursday that President Bush did not know how many of the 64 existing stem cell lines were fully developed and ready for research when he decided to limit federal funds to these lines.
Thompson said the president's decision was made on moral grounds, and would not have changed had Bush known that fewer than half of these cell colonies are fully developed today.
Thompson's comments come a day after he met critics on Capitol Hill who argue that research may be hampered if there are not enough stem cells that qualify for the funds. Thompson acknowledged for the first time that just 24 or 25 of the 64 lines are fully developed, although the others still qualify for federal funds if an applicant seeks them.
He said more lines will be developed by the time federal grants are issued next year. Even if not, there are enough lines now, Thompson said.
``Ninety percent of the research done on mice was done on five lines,'' he said in an extensive interview with The Associated Press in which he defended the administration's approach.
Each stem cell line comes from a single embryo. Once fully developed, it can reproduce indefinitely, allowing hundreds of researchers to work with cells from a single line.
Scientists see great promise for treating disease because the cells can develop into any part of the body. It is controversial science because human embryos, typically those left over from fertility treatments, must be destroyed in the process.
By restricting federal funds to existing stem cell lines, ``where the life-and-death decision has already been made,'' Bush made sure there was no federal support for the destruction of more embryos.
Thompson said that neither he nor Bush knew how many of the existing stem cell lines were fully developed when the president made his decision in August.
``The decision by the president was made on ethical and moral grounds as much as it was on scientific grounds and it wasn't based upon the number,'' he said.
Before August, most experts believed there were a dozen or so embryonic stem cell lines in existence. While Bush was deliberating, Thompson quietly ordered the National Institutes of Health to do a full count. He gave that information to the president in pressing him to allow the research.
Researchers were surprised — and skeptical — to hear Bush say there were more than 60 lines.
The day after Bush's speech on Aug. 9, Thompson confirmed the number to reporters: ``The more than 60 stem cell lines are diverse, robust and viable for research,'' he said.
Thompson said Thursday that when he said those words, he did not know how many cell lines were in the early stages of development — when they may or may not become usable. He said he did not mean to imply that all of them were fully developed.
``Nobody has ever said there are 64 completely developed lines. Nobody has ever said that,'' he said. ``I did not know what states they were in until recently and neither did NIH.''
A few weeks later, the NIH released the list of laboratories with the stem cell lines. Interviews with researchers made it clear that many of them were in the earliest stages of development.
Thompson, who plans to appear at a second Senate hearing on stem cells next week, argues that valuable research can be done on less developed stem cell lines to determine how they grow. Still, he said he does not know of any researchers who are interested in studying these issues.
He said the entire debate about embryonic stem cell research has been good for the country.
``How long has it been since we've had this kind of in-depth reporting and conversations over the dinner table on fertilized eggs and derivation of embryos?'' he said.
A former Wisconsin governor, Thompson boasted that he endorsed this research — which was pioneered at the University of Wisconsin — before any other politician ever heard of it. After taking the HHS job, he pushed Bush to allow for federal funds. Now, he is defending it to critics who wish it went further.
``It's really surprising to me that the one constant that has been there from day one is catching flack,'' he said.
===== Kevin Dean Buffalo, NY ICQ: 8616001 http://www.yaysoft.com
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