Britain opens world’s first stem cell bank

POTTERS BAR, England — Britain opened the world’s first national stem cell bank in May, establishing a new era in a controversial area of medical research. Stem cells are master cells that turn into human tissue, and scientists believe they could be used to replace diseased cells in people suffering from certain ailments. Britain was the first nation to authorize the cloning of human embryos to produce stem cells for research. After human embryos are created for the research they are destroyed. The bank will accept stem cells from adult sources as well as from unborn children.

In the United States, researchers can use federal money to study only human embryonic stem cells that come from cell lines in existence by Aug. 9, 2001, when President Bush announced the policy. LIFE, a pro-life group, opposes the new stem cell bank, calling the use of human embryos as a tissue source “unethical, unnecessary and dangerous,” according to The Associated Press.