Stem Cell Funding
Lots of institutes, organizations and universities are confronted with the difficult issue of raising money or getting stem cell funding to continue their research. 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 concerns and questions have always been fired on the topic of stem cell research because of the embryo death controversy. Pro-lifers lead a sustained open fight against all laboratory tests during which embryos die or get discarded.
Some institutes receive more stem cell funding than others, with continuous support from the organizations interested in the development of this part of the medical science. CIRM for instance provides 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. Part of the funding goes for research in the transplantation of stem cells while others in the pioneer treatment of autoimmune diseases such as sclerosis or scleroderma. The National Institute of Health is one other financial supporter of research centers that specialize in 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 expect solutions from the achievements and findings of stem cell therapy. Moreover, it is thanks to 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 development with the elimination of the ban for stem cell research performed by Obama’s government in March 2009.
Therefore, we may witness a new wave of stem cell funding that will change the perspective for many research centers. How can we explain the huge sums of money necessary for 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 cost a huge amount of money, and we’d be faced with a stagnation of research without the massive investments in this medical branch.
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