Politics Ahead of Progress

Apparently, Dr. Bertram Lubin, president of the Children's Hospital Oakland Research Institute and world renowned researcher in the treatment of sickle-cell anaemia was shut out of funding from the California Institute of Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) in its recent deliberations on how to distribute $263 million in funding. Lubin's group was denied in part because his work “lacked work on embryonic stem cells." It seems ethically sound use of umbilical cord derived stem cells was disqualifying. Of course, any success in this arena would run counter to the underlying CIRM agenda, that being to rally public support behind human embryo research. It is no surprise to SL readers that embryonic stem cell proponents are more interested in political purity than actually finding cures.