Background

• In recognition of the growing research on pluripotent stem cells derived from non-embryonic stem cell sources - including umbilical cord blood, President George W. Bush issued an Executive Order on June 20, 2007 authorizing research on alternative sources of pluripotent stem cells to be explored without "violation of human dignity or demeaning human life."

The Order:

• Directs the Department of Health and Human Services and the National Institutes of Health to ensure that any human pluripotent stem cell lines produced in ways that do not create, destroy, or harm human embryos will be eligible for Federal funding.
• Expands the NIH's Embryonic Stem Cell registry to include all types of ethically produced human pluripotent stem cells.
• Renames the registry the Pluripotent Stem Cell Registry - so that it reflects what the stem cells can do, instead of where they come from.
• Invites scientists to work with the NIH, so we can add new ethically derived stem cell lines to the list of those eligible for Federal funding.

Current Status of Federal Funding of Non-Embryonic Stem Cell Sources

The Senate recently passed a bill that would authorize additional Federal funding for alternative stem cell research, and the President has called on the House to pass similar legislation.

Read full executive order issued by White House on June 20, 2007