Amniotic-fluid stem cells hailed as another alternative to embryo use

Published: 2007-01-08

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- The recent announcement by scientists at Wake Forest and Harvard universities that the amniotic fluid surrounding a child in the womb can be the source of medically useful stem cells is just the latest in a series of studies showing the research value of the byproducts of live birth, according to the deputy director of the U.S. bishops' Secretariat for Pro-Life Activities. Richard M. Doerflinger told Catholic News Service Jan. 8 that various studies have shown that the placenta, cord blood, the umbilical cord itself and other byproducts of birth "may all contain very versatile stem cells, with many of the advantages of embryonic stem cells without the practical disadvantages or moral problems." "With 4 million live births every year in our country alone, an ample supply of these cells lies readily at hand," he added. The study was reported Jan. 7 in the online edition of the journal Nature Biotechnology and included research by scientists at the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine in Winston-Salem, N.C., and Children's Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston.

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