In honor of today being National Stem Cell Awareness Day, Gov. Jim Doyle reaffirmed Wisconsin’s role as a major force in stem cell research.
Doyle spokesperson Lee Sensenbrenner said Doyle has always been an advocate of stem cell research.
“Starting with his first campaign, the governor all along really saw the life-saving and life-improving potential for stem cells to cure diseases previously thought incurable,” Sensenbrenner said.
He added Doyle is firmly committed to heath care and does not want to stifle any advancement in the field with government involvement.
“The governor believes in getting politicians out of (the) way of scientists and opening up promising avenues of research,” Sensenbrenner said.
The University of Wisconsin Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Center was the first research facility to successfully culture embryonic stem cells from non-human primates in 1995 and later isolated the world’s first human embryonic stem cells.
Ed Fallone, president of Wisconsin Stem Cell Now, said he is very pleased today is Stem Cell Awareness Day because it will help to keep the issue of stem cell research salient in the mind of the public.
He also said the day is especially important to raise awareness of much-needed research funding.
“I think all of us that have been engaged in fundraising have noticed that when people felt the crisis had passed [donations] dropped off,” Fallone said.
According to Fallone, stem cell research funding was very good when the Bush administration put hurdles in place, but now people assume the Obama administration has cleared the way for stem cell research and do not donate as much.
According to a statement from SCN, the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine originated Stem Cell Awareness Day to inform the public about the science of stem cell research, raise awareness of current research and communicate future ideas for stem cell use in a wide variety of therapies.
Fallone said the state does not have any special events planned to honor the day.
Barbara Lyons, executive director of Wisconsin Right to Life, said if Doyle is promoting embryonic stem cell use, the group is extremely opposed.
“If [Doyle] is still touting embryonic, then technology and science are leaving him in the dust,” Lyons said.
Lyons said adult stem cells have real benefits because they are only type put into a human being with stunning success and no embryos are destroyed to retrieve the cells. She also said induced pluripotent stem cells are a type of adult stem cell that mimic embryonic stem cells after being “reprogrammed.”
Ronald Kalil, a UW professor of ophthalmology and visual sciences who specializes in using neural stem cells to repair the injured brain, said he thinks the proclamation is a good thing for stem cell research and praised Doyle for highlighting the issue.
“I think stem cell research is well-supported and when the governor adds his credibility it helps build more support,” Kalil said.