Success of Cord Blood Stem Cells Applauded

The Australian theage.com reports that thousands of people have been medically assisted via treatments utilizing stem cells retrieved from stored cord blood.

The article discusses a South Korean success story, in particular, and argues that the political controversy over stem cells may be unnecessary.

According to The Age, embryonic stem cell research is not as promising as research and treatment related to umbilical cord blood stem cells. It argues that the controversy surrounding stem cell research can be averted by use of non-embryonic stem cells (read: cord blood stem cells) and that cord blood banking offers great hope for medical treatment.

The author states: "So the twist to the stem cell story will actually be no setback for patients, provided that enough research funding is available to adult and cord blood stem cells and is not being funnelled to embryo stem cells instead."

It is worth mentioning that the article appears to be from a pro-life source who probably maintains a significant bias against stem cell research. Nonetheless, the article makes interesting observations regarding potential shortcomings in emryonic stem cell use and does argue persuasively for cord blood banking and research. You can read it here.