According to a pro-life research organization, the lackluster success rates have made funding for embryonic stem-cell research more difficult to come by.
A new report from the education and research arm of the Susan B. Anthony List shows that the scientific community now recognizes that "morally unproblematic alternatives to embryonic stem cells [are] the best hope for progress toward effective treatments and therapies."
The scientific community now understands that the best chance for success with treating medical conditions is through adult stem cells.
Chuck Donovan is president of the Charlotte Lozier Institute. He says researchers are pursuing more ethical approaches.
"We've analyzed the last five years of funding by the San Francisco-based California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM), which was created to promote embryonic stem-cell research that hopefully would lead to therapies and cures for various diseases," Donovan explains. "It was promised to do that. Our analysis shows that they have been unable to find projects that work that way, and they are now turning more and more to adult stem-cell resources, which do not raise those ethical issues of destroying human embryos."
While no successful uses of human embryo research have been found, research with adult stem cells has shown promise in treating over 70 diseases and medical conditions.
Donovan concludes the survey shows that even the most supportive entity in the country, CIRM, cannot find beneficial projects for human embryo research and is turning to adult stem cells.