The Obama administration today issued final guidelines regarding use of stem cells for research purposes and in the process, it announced rules expected to make even more stem cells available for lab work. In a draft of the guidelines outlined by the National Institutes of Health in April, only stem cells from excess embryos at fertility clinics that would otherwise have been discarded and that had received donor consent were to be eligible for federal funding. In the final guidelines, stem lines developed before the guidelines go into effect tomorrow won’t be asked to show that they were derived from the specific ethical requirements set forth in the guidelines, according to the Washington Post . Instead, older stem cell lines that were derived in

the spirit of the ethical principles could qualify for federal money, potentially making more cell lines eligible for research purposes. “I expect that most existing lines will be found to have been ethically derived,” Sean Morrison, director of the University of Michigan Center for Stem Cell Biology, told the Associated Press . “This will eventually make hundreds of new stem cell lines available for use.” Acting NIH Director Raynard Kington told reporters today: “We think this is a reasonable compromise to achieve the president’s goal of both advancing science while maintaining rigorous ethical standards. We believe that judgment is necessary.” Stem cell photo: National Institutes of Health

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New Rules Could Further Expand Stem-Cell Research