The Roman Catholic Church supports umbilical cord blood storage and use as an alternative to embryonic stem cell research, which the church opposes.
That issue came to the forefront in light of President Barack Obama's March 9 executive order that reversed former President George W. Bush's policy that banned federal funding for research into stem cell lines created after 2001.
Stem cell lines are derived from embryos that develop from eggs that have been fertilized in an in vitro fertilization clinic and donated for research purposes with consent of the donors. Though not derived from eggs fertilized in a woman's body, the Catholic church and others, including Bush, have criticized the procedure because embryos are destroyed to create stem cell lines.
Cells collected from umbilical cord blood, supporters say, offer benefits for research because no destruction of embryos is involved.
In July 2005, Cardinal William H. Keeler, then chairman of the Committee for Pro-Life Activities, U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, and a former bishop of Harrisburg, wrote in a USCCB newsletter that "umbilical cord blood stem cells have successfully treated thousands of patients with dozens of diseases.
"They also exhibit properties once associated chiefly with embryonic stem cells: They grow rapidly in culture, producing enough cells to be clinically useful in both children and adults; they can treat patients who are not an exact genetic match, without being rejected as foreign tissue; and they seem able to produce a wide array of different cell types.
"What is preventing far broader use of umbilical cord blood stem cells is not an ethical concern, or any lack of evidence of clinical benefits, but simply a lack of funding and access," Keeler stated.
In light of Obama's recent decision on embryonic stem cell research, Cardinal Justin Rigali, archbishop of Philadelphia and current chairman of the USCCB Committee, called the president's move "a sad victory of politics over science and ethics."
Rigali noted, in a statement issued last month, that "adult and cord blood stem cells are now known to have great versatility, and are increasingly being used to reverse serious illnesses and even help rebuild damaged organs.
"To divert scarce funds away from these promising avenues for research and treatment toward the avenue that is most morally controversial as well as most medically speculative would be a sad victory. ..." Rigali concluded.
The Catholic Diocese of Harrisburg concurred, noting in a statement by Dr. Paul Schenck, director of the Office of Respect Life Activities, that it "supports ethical research and therapies such as placenta-cord blood banking that offers the prospect of life-saving treatment of disease. The Church cannot condone and does not support procedures that destroy human life and make human embryos into objects to be procured and manipulated, no matter what the ends," the diocese statement noted.
"Embryonic stem cell research always results in the death of the embryo-child, which is a grave sin against God and human life. We applaud every moral effort to find therapies that will protect and save lives and relieve suffering."
Stephen Kopfinger is a Sunday News staff writer. Contact him at skopfinger@lnpnews.com or at 291-8799. 
