CAPE TOWN, September 2, 2004 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Lazaron Biotechnologies, a biotech company based in Cape Town, South Africa, has established the first ethical stem cell bank on the continent that would collect the cells from umbilical cord blood. Cord blood has been called one of the most promising sources of stem cells for research and disease treatment. Daniel Barry, chief executive officer for the company said in a statement, “The limited option already exists to store stem cells abroad, and we took the decision to offer this opportunity to the broader spectrum of the South African population.” In Canada, Dr. Peter Hollands, a PhD embryologist has set up this country’s first such bank. In November 2003 he told LifeSiteNews.com that the ethical problems of using embryonic human beings for research need not even be addressed since embryo cells are more difficult to work with and no treatment or cures have been found using them. “Embryonic stem cells have many legal, moral, ethical and religious objections before even the practicalities of obtaining the cells, growing them, storing them and not least transplanting them are addressed,” Dr. Hollands said. “Adult and umbilical cord blood stem cells are readily available, have no objections associated with them and are tried and tested in clinical use. Umbilical cord blood stem cells, for example, have been used over 3000 times for 45 different diseases!” Reuters continues to muddy the waters over stem cell research and cloning with the use of deceptive and misleading language. In the first line of their coverage of the South African company they call the storage of ethical stem cells ‘controversial,’ without mentioning that the controversy is entirely over the use of embryos for research. Barry of Lazaron confirmed Dr. Hollands’ assertion that umbilical cord stem cells carry great potential for treating diseases. He says that Lazaron is in the forefront of stem cell disease research and the potential exists to treat over 40 different diseases. “Stem cells have already been stored for over 18 years, and currently scientists see no reason why cryogenically frozen stem cells cannot be stored for a lifetime,” he said.
Reuters coverage: https://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20040901/sc_nm/health_safrica_dc