Controversial Healthcare Policy Project

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Stem Cell Research

Formulation

Research coverage should qualify in the Eligibility Criteria for Federal Funding of Research on Human Embryonic Stem Cells of the National Institute of Health (NIH ) as established by President George W . Bush in August 9 , 2001 . According to The HYPERLINK "http /www .nih .gov " \o "Visit the NIH home page " National Institutes of Health Resource for Stem Cell Research , the following are the criteria for approval of research proposals

The derivation process (which begins with the destruction of the embryo was initiated prior

to 9 :00

.M . EDT on August 9 , 2001

The stem cells must have been derived from an embryo that was created for reproductive purposes and was no longer needed

Informed consent must have been obtained for the donation of the embryo and that donation must not have involved financial inducements (para .2 .To create embryonic stem cells for research , a "stem cell line " must be created from the inner cell mass of a week-old embryo (The White House 2001

Embryonic stem cells derived from the inner cell mass of a human embryo have the latent ability to develop into all or nearly all of the tissues in the body thus it is termed pluripotentiality " characteristic of stem cells

Adult stem cells are unspecialized , thus , they can restore its own by becoming specialized and have the potential to be any type of cell

Many researchers and scientists believe that embryonic stem cell research can be used in the future for the treatment of various diseases which are incurable as of the present . Said

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stem cells may replace destroyed or dysfunctional cells and tissues caused by untreatable disease conditions

Implementation

Bulk of the responsibility for the realization of research programs falls on the hands of the National Institutes of Health which is the main implementing agency of most federal funding for biomedical research

An NIH Stem Cell Task Force was created to decide on the paramount uses of the public funds for research as well as the resources needed to use such funds effectively

Establishing of human embryonic stem cell lines eligible for funding though according to President Bush , more than sixty genetically diverse stem cell lines (or stem cell preparations ) are existing and available as early as 2001

The process of making lines available to federally funded researchers involves negotiating a contractual agreement (a materials transfer agreement ) with the companies or institutions owning the cell lines establishing guidelines for payment , intellectual property rights over resulting techniques or treatments , and other essential legal assurances between the provider and the recipient (The President 's Council on Bioethics , 2004

The NIH Human Pluripotent Stem Cell Review Group (HPSCRG ) is tasked to review the documents submitted if recommending agencies have complied with the Guidelines for funding requests proposing the utilization of human pluripotent stem cells

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In the case of new or competing continuation (renewal ) or competing supplement applications , all applications shall be reviewed by HPSCRG and for...