The NIH Says It Will Spend Up to $20 Million to Find Alternatives to Human Fetal Tissue

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced Monday that it will soon embark on a major research effort to find scientific alternatives to human fetal tissue, a switch that may affect research ranging from basic science to drug trials. Human fetal tissue is commonly used by scientists to mimic human biology in order to understand normal development, study the effects of disease or test drugs. Its use in research is legal but fiercely opposed by some pro-life activists, given that it is procured after elective abortions. Over the next two years, the NIH will supply up to $20 million for research that seeks to “develop and/or further refine human tissue models that closely mimic and can be used to faithfully model human embryonic development or other aspects of human biology, for example, the human immune system, that do not rely on the use of human fetal tissue obtained from elective abortions,” according to the announcement. The project — which, according to the announcement, is motivated by a desire to develop alternatives that would yield “more replicable and reproducible system[s] for broader uses” — is still in its preliminary stages; the announcement on Monday was just a notice of intent. The news follows controversy over the use of human fetal tissue within the NIH. On Sunday, reports emerged claiming that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the NIH’s parent agency, had directed all 6,000 internal NIH ...
Source: TIME: Health - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized HIV/AIDS Research Source Type: news