Government restrictions on funding stem cell research hasn't held back science yet, but could in the future, a panelist said at a discussion of legal and ethical issues surrounding such research Tuesday.
Two panelists, Dr. Nabil Dib, director of the cardiovascular research at Arizona Heart Institute, and Dr. Michael Caplan, an assistant professor in the Department of Bioengineering, spoke before an audience of 30 people at the event, which was hosted by the Biomedical Engineering Society.
Bioengineering junior Himanshu Kaul, vice president of BMES, said the group felt students lacked the knowledge to form their own opinions on stem cell research.
"If you hear a discussion, you get ideas, you start to form your own opinions about what is right and what is wrong," he said.
A facilitator asked the panelists about ethical issues of government restrictions on development of embryonic stem cells.
Government regulations prevent researchers from using federal funding for research using embryonic cells, Caplan said. Since an embryo must be destroyed in order to obtain the cells, it has become a hotly debated public issue.
Embryonic cells are cells that come from a human embryo, Caplan said. These cells can become any cell in the body.
Limits on funding are not impeding progress as much as the public may think, Caplan said.
"You can still do the research," he said. "You just can't use government funds."
Government policy may have slowed the research, but it's still going, Caplan said.
"I think we might be where we are anyway," he said.
But the medical field still has a long way to go before embryonic cells can be used to fight medical conditions, Caplan said.
The United States is the only country that limits stem cell research, and the research in other countries is moving at a faster rate than that of the United States, Dib said.
"The outside world is moving a little bit faster," he said. "It's not necessarily wiser. It's just faster."
Another type of cell, somatic cells, isn't regulated by the government and can be useful in research, Caplan said.
"There is a lot of work to be done with somatic stem cells," Caplan said. He said these cells couldn't grow into every cell in the body like embryonic cells can.
Cell therapy still faces a few medical hurdles before it can be used to cure such things as heart disease and diabetes, Dib said.
Cell therapy is using healthy cells to regenerate unhealthy tissue.
"One issue is 'How can I make this cell survive after transplant?'" Dib said.
For cell therapy to advance, Caplan said it would require patience and communication on the part of everyone involved.
"We need to be communicating every step of the way with the public," he said. "Right now we've reached a compromise."
Reach the reporter at kelsey.perry@asu.edu.
