South Korean Scientists Speed Up Stem Cell Creation

May 20, 2005 6:05 a.m. EST

W.J. Brown - All Headline News

Seoul, South Korea (AHN) - The team of South Korean scientists who cloned the first human emryo, stated on Thursday that they have used the technology to create batches of embryonic stem cells from nine donor patients.

Therapeutic cloning has come one step closer and more practical.

The scientists claim to have grown 11 embryonic stem cell batches that were matched to treat injured and sick patients.

The process creates test-tube embryos as a supply of stem cells, the basic building blocks that give rise to every tissue in the body. When the stem cells are a genetic match for a particular patient, they are not rejected by the patient's immune system.

Lead researcher, Hwang Woo-suk of Seoul National University, stated that there was still a long way to go and any potential therapies are years away from being tested in human subjects, however that it is now possible to create stem cells to help repair damage to spinal cord injuries, diabetes, Parkinson's and other diseases.