November 14, 2011. (Romereports.com) The pope met with 250 participants from the Vatican's conference on adult stem cells. The three day meeting was meant to promote awareness of the new medicine. Benedict XVI offered his own endorsement of adult stem cells and the possibilities it holds in health care.

Benedict XVI
“The potential benefits of adult stem cell research are very considerable, since it opens up possibilities for healing chronic degenerative illnesses by repairing damaged tissue.”

This audience with the pope hosted many of the leading researchers, doctors, and business leaders  pursuing the advancement of adult stem cell use. During his speech, the pope noted the link between medical research and the ethics that should govern them.

Benedict XVI
“Dialogue between science and ethics is of the greatest importance in order to ensure that medical advances are never made at unacceptable human cost.”

The pope also recognized the possibility of taking stem cells from the blood of an umbilical cord at the moment of birth. He said that no type of 'ethical problems' arise because human life is not harmed in it's collection.

These types of stem cells make it possible to produce insulin in diabetics and grow human tissue for testing different drugs.


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