Yes. However, because of California law, CHR review (usually Expedited review) is still required for research using registry cell lines. Donors may be recontacted if, in the donation consent form, they have agreed to be recontacted. If researchers expect they may want to recontact donors, the initial consent form should describe the circumstances and purposes of recontact.

The available number of human embryonic stem cell lines is a matter of some debate. To date, over 100 human embryonic stem cell lines have been derived worldwide. However, most of those lines are not adequately characterized yet. And only 22 cell lines are eligible for federal funding in the USA. Detailed information on those 22 cell lines can be found at the National Institutes of Health Human Stem Cell Registry at http://stemcells.nih.gov.

of March 2007, there are 21 independent, fully developed stem cell lines available for widespread distribution to researchers. Providers of these 21 cell lines all received an NIH Infrastructure award. This number compares to 17 in 2004 and 1 in April 2002. The increased availability of the lines is a direct consequence of NIH's funding of Infrastructure awards to support cell providers to develop their eligible lines into distribution-quality, well-characterized cell lines.

Stem cells are cells that have the remarkable potential to develop into many different cell types in the body. Serving as a sort of repair system for the body, they can theoretically divide without limit to replenish other cells for as long as the person or animal is still alive. When a stem cell divides, each "daughter" cell has the potential to either remain a stem cell or become another type of cell with a more specialized function, such as a muscle cell, a red blood cell, or a brain cell.

In some cases, the Human Gamete, Embryo, and Stem Cell Research Committee (GESCR) will also review studies. The CHR will coordinate with GESCR to determine which studies should receive additional review. GESCR has scientific and ethicist representation as well as community lay members and has an advisory role for the Executive Vice Chancellor and the CHR. The Biological Safety Committee should review the applications and determine if there are any specific safety issues.

With respect to federal funding for research, only the embryonic stem cell lines approved for research by President Bush in 2001 may be used. Detailed information on these cells can be found at: http://escr.nih.gov. Several laboratories around the country also conduct embryonic stem cell research using private funding. This research is monitored by an Institutional Review Board (IRB) within a privately funded institution.

Embryonic stem cells come from the “inner cell mass” of a group of cells called a blastocyst. The blastocyst is an early stage of development known as the “zygote” that occurs within the first 4-6 days after fertilization. Once the “inner cell mass” or embryonic stem cells are removed from the blastocyst, the cells may be kept alive in a petri dish under specific laboratory conditions. Such cells are multi-potent meaning they may become any cell in the body.

Human embryonic stem cells are thought to have much greater developmental potential than adult stem cells. This means that embryonic stem cells may be pluripotent—that is, able to give rise to cells found in all tissues of the embryo except for germ cells rather than being merely multipotent—restricted to specific subpopulations of cell types, as adult stem cells are thought to be.

Although there are many ethical and scientific issues with embryonic stem cells, these cells have the greatest capacity to make new tissues. To date, adult stem cells have not been shown to give rise to the variety of tissues that embryonic stem cells potentially can. Additionally, under certain conditions, embryonic stem cells can form cancerous cells. For this reason, embryonic stem cells have the potential to be studied as a model of cancer development.

of March 2007, there are 21 independent, fully developed stem cell lines available for widespread distribution to researchers. Some of these cell lines are available through the National Stem Cell Bank at reduced cost. The remaining lines may be purchased by contacting the cell line providers directly. Information on the lines and how to contact the National Stem Cell Bank and the individual providers can be found on the NIH Stem Cell Registry.

Non-embryonic stem cell lines involve cells that are more differentiated and less capable of being programmed into various cell lines. Simply put, as the cell line ages it loses its capability to differentiate itself into various tissues and thus is less useful.

The scientific community has identified these cell lines as a critical source for reference epigenomes, at multiple meetings and workshops over the last 3 years, and as a necessary resource to gain better understanding of normal differentiation, development, and disease progression. For more information on the Epigenetics of Human Health and Disease workshop held March 19-20, 2007, see http://nihroadmap.nih.gov/epigenomics/brainstorming0307/.

Stem cells are cells that have the remarkable potential to develop into many different cell types in the body. Serving as a sort of repair system for the body, they can theoretically divide without limit to replenish other cells for as long as the person or animal is still alive. When a stem cell divides, each "daughter" cell has the potential to either remain a stem cell or become another type of cell with a more specialized function, such as a muscle cell, a red blood cell, or a brain cell.

Once a stem cell line is established from a cell in the body, it is essentially immortal, no matter how it was derived. That is, the researcher using the line will not have to go through the rigorous procedure necessary to isolate stem cells again. Once established, a cell line can be grown in the laboratory indefinitely and cells may be frozen for storage or distribution to other researchers.

present, the only known way to derive embryonic stem cells involves the destruction of a blastocyst-stage embryo. Some people are opposed to this research because they consider the blastocyst to be morally equivalent to a human individual.

Research that proposes the use of human cell lines available from the American Type Culture Collection or a similar repository is not considered human subjects research because the cells are publicly available and all of the information known about the cell lines (perhaps, including the donor) is also publicly available.

Embryonic stem cells are undifferentiated, meaning that they don't belong to one specific organ. They have the potential to generate any type of tissue in the body. The potential that embryonic stem cells present to scientists is immeasurable. There have already been promising findings in the field of Parkinson's research using embryonic stem cells in mice and monkeys.

Embryonic stem cells are derived at a very early stage of development called a blastocyst. This is a simple ball of about 100 cells that is similar in all species of animals at this stage of development. Embryonic stem cells are derived from the cells in the center of this blastocyst. Blastocysts are obtained from in vitro fertilization clinics. These clinics have produced an estimated 500,000 healthy, much-loved children over the two decades of their existence.

Research on existing human embryonic stem cell lines may be conducted with Federal support if the cell lines meet the US President’s criteria, which he announced on August 9, 2001 . All such human stem cell lines are on the NIH Human Embryonic Stem Cell Registry.

A stem cell is an uncommitted cell that has the potential to develop into cells of a specific tissue (such as the hematopoietic stem cell developing into all of the blood cells). Within the fetus and the adult, stem cells are found in various areas of the body. Embryonic stem cells are the precursors to all stem cells as well as all other tissues of the body.

The world's first human embryonic stem cell lines were created at UW?Madison in 1998. The patents that govern embryonic stem cell technology are held by the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation, a private, non-profit supporting organization of the UW?Madison.

The U-M Exploratory Center for Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research, located in the Medical School and headed by Professor K. Sue O'Shea, contains a core laboratory that maintains human embryonic stem cell lines for use by the U-M scientific community. Created in 2003, it is one of just six such centers in the country funded by National Institutes of Health and has received a total of $3 million in federal funding. Funding recently has been extended for a fifth year.

WiCell has published FAQs About WiCell's Policies on the Use of Its hESC Lines (136k PDF file; get Adobe Reader) to address this question.