Willingness to Donate Frozen Embryos for Stem Cell Research

Moral concerns about the primary source of stem cells, human embryos, have prompted one of the most contentious public debates in the history of biomedical science. Following the announcement of a restriction of U.S. federal funding to research with about 20 cell lines isolated from embryos before August 2001 (1) and, more recently, a presidential veto upholding this restriction (2), there has been a clear message from the scientific community that the eligible lines are not only inadequate in number but also unsafe for translational research. There is also mounting evidence that American scientists are losing ground to other countries with lessrestrictive policies (3). Further, surveys of the American public indicate that there is widespread support for embryonic stem cell (ES cell) research that cuts across political, religious, and socioeconomic lines, with approval estimated at 66% of the public overall (4).