Update 24 June 2010: On 21 June, National Institutes of Health director Francis Collins .
NUMEROUS lines of human embryonic stem cells carrying mutations responsible for conditions such as cystic fibrosis and Huntington鈥檚 disease are set to be denied US government funding, because of a problem in donor consent forms.
鈥淪tem cell lines carrying mutations for cystic fibrosis could be denied US government funding鈥�
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The 42 lines were created by a team led by of the (RGI) in Chicago. Verlinsky, who died in 2009, was a pioneer of pre-implantation genetic diagnosis: screening IVF embryos for genetic mutations. Some couples also donated embryos carrying the mutations, allowing Verlinsky鈥檚 team to extract stem cells for research.
RGI submitted its lines for clearance to the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) in October 2009. But last week, an advisory committee to NIH director Francis Collins recommended that the lines from federal funding.
The problem is a single sentence in the consent forms, which waives any rights to sue for negligence or harm arising from the donation. As 快猫短视频 went to press, Collins had yet to make a final decision, but he seems to have little room for manoeuvre as such waivers are forbidden under US government rules.
The lines are very valuable, says of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine in San Francisco.
