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Japanese Breakthrough Prompts Germany to Increase Adult Stem Cell Funding

By Hilary White

BERLIN, November 29, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The German health ministry announced that it will increase its funding for ethical adult stem cell research, building on its previous dedication to the protection of embryonic human life. The ministry announced November 24 that it will double the current allocation of five million euros (US $7.4 million) to just under 10 million euros, Annette Schavan told the weekly Focus magazine in an interview.

"From now on we are going to double the annual funding total for adult cell recoding techniques, in order to push forward advances in this area," Schavan said.

"Over the next few years Germany must be a motor in adult stem cell research so that we can expand on the results already obtained," she added.

The announcement follows the breakthrough reported by a pair of research teams in Japan and the US that showed it is possible to create embryo-like stem cells by genetically "reprogramming" ordinary adult skin cells. Many researchers, including the UK's eminent cloning scientist Dr. Ian Wilmut, have said that the breakthrough will obviate the need for further cloning and embryo experimentation.

Germany tightly regulates embryo research allowing only those cell lines derived from embryos that were imported into the country prior to Jan. 1, 2002. The law is slated for parliamentary review in spring 2008. Schavan said she favoured a one-time shift of the cut-off beyond Jan. 1, 2002.

"What's important is that there is now greater hope of being able one day to do without tests on embryonic stem cells," she said

Schavan added that the recent breakthrough would not have been possible without "the knowledge gained from research on embryonic stem cells."

Germany has been one of the strongest voices in the European Union opposed to increased EU funding for embryo research. Citing the country's historic experience with the consequences of unbridled utilitarianism, in 2005 Germany joined Malta, Italy, Poland and Slovakia in standing up to the EU against a proposal to fund research that utilizes human embryos in favour of research that uses adult stem cells exclusively.

In 2006, a letter from German Research Minister Annette Schavan said, "The European Union science programme should not be used to give financial incentives to kill embryos."

The country's representatives at the EU spearheaded a move to create a coalition of countries against the funding including Poland, Austria, Slovakia, Luxembourg, Malta, Slovenia, Lithuania and Ireland.

Read related LifeSiteNews.com coverage:
Malta, Italy, Germany, Poland and Slovakia Object to EU Funding of Embryonic Stem Cell Research
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2005/nov/05112904.html

Germany Hopes to Block Deadly Human Embryo Experimentation in the EU
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2006/jul/06072101.html  

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