This week the Obama administration has given embryonic stem cell researchers what they’ve been seeking:  the potential to receive funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH).  Here’s the irony:  now that the funding restrictions are lifted, embryonic stem cells may not be the primary focus of stem cell research anyway. 

This is articulated very well in an article written for U.S. News & World Report by former director of the NIH, Dr. Bernadine Healy, titled, “Why Embryonic Stem Cells Are Obsolete.”  Dr. Healy points out that “not all stem cells are same” and that research with adult stem cells “has scored major wins.”  On the other hand, recent data shows that embryonic stem cells injected into patients can cause disabling if not deadly tumors (link to PLoS Medicine article).

However, what’s been overlooked in much of the dialogue and debate between embryonic stem cells vs. adult stem cells from bone marrow or blood is that there’s a third category of stem cells with unique attributes:  newborn stem cells. 

Newborn stem cells are a rich and diverse population of stem cells that can be collected from umbilical cord blood without ethical concerns in a 10-minute window immediately following birth.  This population of stem cells is a desirable source for clinical research because they are younger, more flexible and more pristine than adult stem cells.  In addition, newborn stem cells have demonstrated embryonic-like capabilities to proliferate and develop into all of the major cell types in the body; yet they don’t carry the same safety concerns as embryonic stem cells. 

As Dr. Healy points out, there are advantages to using a patient’s own stem cells in therapy.  There may be even greater advantages to using a patient’s own newborn stem cells from cord blood.  Researchers are making great strides forward in learning how to use a child’s own newborn stem cells to treat conditions that have no cure today, like diabetes, brain injury and other forms of nerve damage.  According to one physician, "Just a few years ago, umbilical cord blood stem cells were virtually the last defense in many disorders. Now it's the front line defense in many disorders."

The key to advancing this research is identifying more children who have a specific condition and who have access to their own newborn stem cells.  Some research dollars from the NIH wouldn’t hurt either.