Study Shows Support for Stem Cell Research Among Infertility Patients

Jun 20, 07:10 PM

Current Headlines: RALEIGH, N.C. _ Sixty percent of patients who have undergone invitro fertilization said they would like to donate unused embryos to stem cell research, according to a study published Thursday in the online edition of the journal Science.

The study, led by researchers at Duke University and Johns Hopkins University, surveyed thousands of men and women who had gone through fertility treatment. Coming on the heels of President Bush's veto of legislation that would ease restrictions on embryonic stem cell research, the study suggests that government policies aren't compatible with the preferences of infertility patients.

When asked to choose between destroying unused embryos, donating them to infertile couples, or donating them to science, 49 percent of patients said they preferred to donate unused embryos to science. That number jumped to 60 percent when asked if they favored using the embryos for stem cell research in particular.

The study confirms what pollsters have been finding for years: strong public support for stem cell research.

Anne Drapkin Lyerly, an associate professor of gynecology at Duke and the lead investigator, said that while lawmakers, advocates and religiously-motivated people were vocal with their views, no one was asking those most affected: men and women facing the moral quandary of what to do with unused embryos produced as a consequence of invitro fertilization.

On average, each of the 2,120 patients surveyed had between four and six unused embryos, Lyerly said. The study was conducted at nine fertility centers across the country.

The study's findings suggest there are 10 times more frozen embryos available for research than commonly believed.

Opponents of stem cell research _ including religious groups such as the Roman Catholic Church and many evangelical Christians _ say embryos are human beings and may not be destroyed for the sake of science.

Neither should excess embryos be created, said Allen Verhey, a professor of Christian ethics at Duke Divinity School.

"We shouldn't deliberately create embryos we do not intend to care for," Verhey said.

But Lyerly said that still skirts the issue of the thousands of embryos now available.

"Rather than simply discard the embryo, people want to put it to some use to help other individuals improve infertility options or combat disease," she said.

Stem cells from embryos can form into a cell of the body, so they hold promise for combating illnesses such as Parkinson's disease, spinal cord injuries and strokes. Stem cells can also be harvested from bone marrow and umbilical cords, and researchers are making advances in collecting the cells from other sources. Often, however, such stem cells are not as versatile as embryonic stem cells.

___

(c) 2007, The News & Observer (Raleigh, N.C.).

Visit The News & Observer online at http://www.newsobserver.com/

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.