The conference on adult stem cells is being seen as an attempt to dispel the widespread notion that the Catholic church is at "loggerheads with science". Picture: Getty Images Source: Supplied
- Vatican hold three-day conference on adult stem cell research
- Signed a deal with US biopharmaceutical company NeoStem
- Pope set to meet with assembled industry experts on Saturday
THE Vatican has advanced its opposition to embryonic stem cell therapy, which requires the destruction of a human embryo, by hosting experts in adult stem cells, a less-regarded field where the embryo is preserved.
The Vatican has advanced its opposition to embryonic stem cell therapy, which requires the destruction of a human embryo, by hosting experts in adult stem cells, a less-regarded field where the embryo is preserved.
At a three-day conference, the Holy See has assembled 350 experts in the field that is attractive to embryonic stem cell (ESC) opponents because it cannot be tagged as a practice that destroys human life.
In May 2010, the Holy See signed a deal with US biopharmaceutical company NeoStem that specialises in adult stem cells and the Vatican has already invested $US1 million ($A964,000) in the company's work.
Pope Benedict XVI is set to meet with the assembled industry experts on Saturday.
"We believe that the Vatican's choice to partner with NeoStem will significantly contribute to accelerating stem cell-based regenerative medicine therapies", NeoStem CEO Robin L. Smith said on the company's website.
That human embryonic stem cells (ESC) can potentially become any type of cell in the body has long held out the tantalizing promise of diseased organs or tissue being repaired or replaced with healthy, lab-grown cells.
But the leap from theory to practice has proven difficult, and fraught with ethical and moral concerns, notably from religious camps, because any such procedure requires the destruction of a human embryo.
The discovery in 2007 that it is possible to coax certain adult cells back into their immature, pre-specialised state has fuelled renewed efforts to generate brand new muscle, heart or even brain cells, this time from raw material provided by the patient.
The Vatican's conference on adult stem cells dispels the widespread notion that the Catholic church is at "loggerheads with science", said Ignacio Carrasco de Paula, head of the Pontifical Academy for Life.
In the field of medical research, the Vatican understands that there is no "alternative" to experimentation on people, but, said Carrasco de Paula, what counts is that the person be the "subject" and not the "object".
"We have the capacity in our own body to rebuild and to repair what we have," said Tommy G Thompson, who served as the US secretary of health and human services under former president George W Bush, an opponent of ESC.
"And as we do this, not one single human embryo is destroyed," he added.
Sources estimate that the global stem cell product market will reach $US88 billion by 2014.
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