PRESS RELEASE: CureSource Issues Statement on Umbilical Cord Blood Stem Cells vs. Embryonic Stem Cells

[Murray Charters <mcharters@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

PRESS RELEASE: CureSource Issues Statement on Umbilical Cord Blood Stem Cells 
vs. Embryonic Stem Cells
May 12, 2004 05:27 PM US Eastern Timezone

CHARLESTON, S.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 12, 2004--CureSource, Inc., of 
Charleston, SC, responds to the former first
lady, Nancy Reagan's endorsement of human embryonic research. Reagan recently 
promoted the use of embryonic stem cells
in the treatment of many neurological diseases including Alzheimer's, 
Parkinson's, Diabetes, etc.

Reagan is endorsing embryonic stem cells, which are taken from human embryos 
and are obtained in the destruction of a
fetus. Stem cell research for the treatment of a multitude of diseases is 
advancing everyday. However, it is equally as
important to note the use of umbilical cord blood stem cells as opposed to 
human embryonic stem cells. Stem cells
obtained from the umbilical cord of a live birth are equally as effective in 
the treatment of disease without the moral
and ethical issues involved in embryonic stem cells.

Dr. Roger Markwald, Professor and Chair for the department of cell biology and 
anatomy at the Medical University of
South Carolina said, "Embryonic stem cells have too many limitations, including 
immune rejection and the potential to
form tumors, to ever achieve acceptance in our lifetime. By that time, 
umbilical cord blood stem cells will have been
shown to be a true 'gift from the gods.'"

It is important to note the difference between embryonic stem cells and 
umbilical cord blood stem cells. Embryonic stem
cells divide and can become a human, thus presenting an ethical issue. There 
are no ethical issues with cord blood stem
cells as they do not have the ability to become a potential life. "Cord blood 
stem cells have the same capacity to cure
disease as do embryonic stem cells, as they can become any cell in the body. 
However, they do not have the capacity to
replicate life and therefore pose no ethical issue of destroying a potential 
life," said Dr. William Schmidt, Jr., an
Oncologist with the Charleston Cancer Center in N. Charleston, SC.

"The use of umbilical cord blood stem cells in the treatment of disease is one 
of the most prominent advancements in
medicine today. Developments in this field will revolutionize medicine and 
disease treatment" said Dr. Markwald.

To learn more about umbilical cord blood stem cells and umbilical cord blood 
stem cell banking, Contact CureSource toll
free 1-877-723-2247 or online at 

Contacts:

Anna Brody, 843-723-2247
Fax: 843-723-2447
abrody@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

SOURCE: Business Wire (press release) - May 12, 2004


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