It will distribute lines beyond the 21 eligible under federal law
By MARK JOHNSON
markjohnson@journalsentinel.com
Posted: Aug. 21, 2008
The WiCell Research Institute in Madison is starting its own stem cell bank to distribute cell lines beyond the 21 eligible by law for federal funding.
The institute, a private, not-for-profit supporting organization with the University of Wisconsin-Madison, operates the National Stem Cell Bank, which distributes the federally supported lines of embryonic stem cells.
But the new bank will offer cells the national bank does not, including the next generation — skin cells reprogrammed back to the embryonic state.
The first lines being made available were created through reprogramming, a technique that does not involve the destruction of a human embryos. However the institute may also distribute lines of human embryonic stem cells that are not among those approved by the Bush administration.
