Stem Cell Funding
Stem cell funding has become a priority for many research institutes, organizations and even governments, if we consider the efforts being made to come up with treatments for all sorts of irrecoverable diseases. The money goes to regenerative medicine institutes that commit to the research in the field of stem cell biology for the purpose of developing cures and viable therapies for the future. Ethical questions and concerns have always been fired on the topic of stem cell research because of the controversy related to the embryos. Pro-lifers are strongly opposing all the lab tests that sacrifices human embryos.
Certain organizations keep a close watch on the progress made with the stem cell funding they provide. CIRM for instance gives millions of dollars in the form of stem cell funding to Stanford’s Institute for specific projects and clinical studies conducted on a determined period of two or four years. Some of these funds are dedicated to the treatment of autoimmune diseases like scleroderma or sclerosis, while others are directed to transplantation research. The National Institute of Health is another important financial supporter of research centers that focus on stem cell biology.
Moreover, lots of other smaller societies and associations finance research: The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, the American Cancer Society, the Diabetes Foundation and several others. These groups act on behalf and in the interest of disease-specific groups that would benefit incredibly from the achievements and findings of stem cell therapy. Moreover, it is together with such financial supporters that clinical trials are possible in collaboration with patients declare irrecoverable. For the moment, stem cell research is going through a new phase of growth with the elimination of the ban for stem cell research performed by Obama’s government in March 2009.
Therefore, we may expect a new wave of stem cell funding that will change the perspective for many research centers. There are clear justifications for the large sums of money necessary to research. Well, like all new technologies that are in the test phase, stem cell biology has lots of challenges and demands. The trained personnel, the work environment, the laboratory gear and the biological material necessary for research are not at all cheap, and we’d be faced with a stagnation of research without the massive investments in this medical branch.
