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Skriven 2005-05-04 13:37:02 av MARNIE TROSCLAIR (1:123/140)
     Kommentar till en text av VERN HUMPHREY
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Hello Vern, 
 
VH> And, since we are a loooong way from treating humans with 
VH> embryonic stem cells... 
 
 
 Siblings Serve as Stem Cell Saviors 
 by Delthia Ricks 
 May 4, 2004 
 
 Mothers have delivered five healthy babies to serve as stem cell 
 donors for older children with life-threatening disorders, using 
 technology some religious and medical ethicists say raises deep 
 concerns. 
 
 Reporting in today's Journal of the American Medical Association, 
 doctors from the Reproductive Genetics Institute in Chicago say  
 their technique of screening embryos can help parents who are  
 trying to prevent the death of a sick child. 
 
 "We are not looking for genes.  We are simply looking for  
 unaffected embryos," said Dr. Anver Kuliev, lead investigator of  
 the research and director of the institute. 
 
 The research focused on pinpointing the best tissue match for  
 the ailing children, who had either leukemia or a devastating  
 form of anemia.  All were candidates for stem cells harvested  
 from their siblings' umbilical cords after their birth. Cord blood  
 is a rich source of the cells. 
 
 Kuliev and his colleagues pioneered the embryo tissue-typing 
 technique, which is called preimplantation HLA testing.  The  
 test allows scientists to zero in on specific regions of a  
 chromosome to find similarities between siblings, similar to  
 that required for bone-marrow transplants.  This is the first time  
 the technique has been used alone as a way to find compatible  
 embryos for a sick child.  In the past, it was used along with a  
 gene search. 
 
 Nine couples were involved in the project during 2002 and 2003.  
 The five babies born in the project were perfect tissue matches. 
 Nonmatching embryos, Kuliev said, were frozen for possible  
 future use. 
 
 All told, 199 embryos were tested in the study. 
 
 To date, only one sick child has received a stem cell infusion.  
 While the procedure was a success, the affected child will need  
 additional care, Kuliev said. Procedures involving the other  
 families are pending. 
 
 As the head of a World Health Organization committee on  
 reproductive technology, Kuliev said he hopes to introduce the  
 science to more parents in need.  A British couple who  
 participated in the project, he said, did so after being denied  
 preimplantation tissue typing in England.  The couple has had  
 a second baby, and an infusion of stem cells is planned with the  
 hope of ameliorating the blood disorder Diamond-Blackfan  
 anemia in the older child. 
 
 "This is a disturbing trend," said Richard Doerflinger, a deputy 
 director of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in  
 Washington, D.C.  "We already have the potential for embryos  
 through cloning.  Now we have the designer production of  
 embryos who can have their body parts harvested." 
 
 
 
More of the story at this address:  
http://www.ifapray.org/Biotech/Biotech5_4_04.html 
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