Scientists alley stem cell fears

2005-11-18 10:07

Cape Town - Scientists should act as "responsible advocates" for stem cell technology, according to the president of the medical research council, Anthony MBewu.

MBewu was speaking at a symposium on the therapeutic use of adult stem cells - the first conference in South Africa devoted solely to stem cell research and applications.

He told the 60 delegates that, with ageing populations in most countries, there was likely to be great demand for stem cell technology in order to replace degenerating tissues.

"It will be important for scientists to act as responsible advocates for this technology, allaying some of the fears engendered by a media hungry for sensationalist stories about Dr Frankensteins and the like," said MBewu.

He added that the distinctions between therapeutic cloning, and the reproductive cloning of human beings, should be clarified for the general public, and the strictly regulated use of discarded human embryos from infertility treatments explained.

He said that of all the biotechnology innovations of the past 20 years, stem cells seemed to hold the greatest promise of developing fundamental breakthroughs in cures for cancer, diabetes and kidney disease, and in organ transplants, cardiovascular surgery and joint problems.

The politico-ethical debates

MBewu also emphasized the opportunities for South African scientists in stem cell research, partly because of the constraints that the politico-ethical debate imposed on their colleagues in the United States.

"So what US scientists often do is they collaborate with people internationally. Some of the recent breakthroughs have been in South Korea, partly because South Korean scientists are of a high standard, but also because they collaborate with people in the US," said MBewu.

The conference is facilitating decisions on how stem cell research could be advanced, and how international collaboration and local players - such as the medical research council, the department of science and technology and the innovation fund - could help move it forward.

'There are a lot of possibilities'

"It's a complex field, there's a lot of interest in it, there are a lot of possibilities, there are also a lot challenges. It's important that it should be done in a premeditated and careful and ethical fashion," said MBewu.

Dr Campbell Macfarlane, chairman of the conference organising committee and a cell biologist at Stellenbosch University, said there had to be a balance between good practice, regulatory requirements and patient needs.

For this, there has to be interaction between science and medicine "which is what we want to form here: a working group that will take this to the next level".

He said it was "essential" for those involved in the field to be open and transparent and for the public to be informed.

He said those attending the symposium included cell biologists, surgeons, haemotologists and geneticists.

- SAPA