Here's another reason to leave the embryos alone:
University of Toronto researchers have discovered a treasure-trove of stem cells that could one day help repair broken limbs and ease bone marrow transplants.
The source: a region of the umbilical cord that holds an abundant supply of connective-tissue stem cells — the basic building blocks for the body's bone, fat and ligament tissues.
The implications include a range of possible new treatments to repair torn ligaments and fractured bones, or to enhance the effectiveness of bone marrow transplants for leukemia patients.
The findings may also spur greater efforts to preserve the umbilical cords of newborns as a source of treatment in later years for the child, or possibly others.
"We're very excited by this, that's for sure," said J.E. Davies, of the UofT's Institute of Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering.
Davies is lead author of a paper describing the research, to be published this week in the journal Stem Cells.
"You can anticipate using these as a source of cells to help re-grow that bone ... or connective tissue in the knee ... which has been damaged in an accident," he said.
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