Francis S. Collins, Director, National Institutes of Health (NIH) says 13-human embryonic stem cell lines for research have been approved by his agency, as they have been created using a process that is not only ‘beyond reproach’, but also ‘ethically defensible’.

Of the 96-lines under review by NIH, 11 of the approved lines were developed by Children’s Hospital in Boston and two by New York’s Rockefeller University, and according to Collins Friday should see some more new lines getting approval.

Already, 31 NIH grants have been approved for stem cell line research, with one grantee using the stem cells for determining whether it is possible to regenerate heart tissue following a heart attack, Collins said., adding that stem cell research may just make it possible to ‘come up with new treatment protocols for a myriad of diseases and injuries’, such as, diabetes and spinal-cord injuries.

Federal funding for embryonic stem-cell research comes barely months after, in a controversial change from the Bush administration, U. S. President Barack Obama lifted a ban on it. As well, the announcement follows the U. S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) permitting a medical treatment derived from embryonic stem cells to be used in the first-ever human trial. A California-based bio-tech firm, Geron Corp. is already in the midst of using stem-cell treatment for spinal cord injuries, news which sent its stock up ($5.98 ) nearly 10% Wednesday in afternoon trading.

During a conference call, Collins stressed the stem cells lines had been approved and developed in accordance with strict NIH guidelines, with all donors aware that there would be no financial gains from donating the cells. ‘In accordance with the guidelines, these stem cell lines were derived from embryos that were donated under ethically sound informed consent processes,’ he said.

Couples who end up creating more embryos than necessary during fertility treatments, wind up donating the extra ones, though sometimes embryos also end up being thrown away or frozen for research. Each embryo yields one stem-cell line able to replicate indefinitely.

George Q. Daley, a doctor at the Stem Cell Transplantation Programme at the Children’s Hospital, Boston developed 11 of the 13-lines given approval by the NIH, is studying these stem-cell lines for blood development, and believes they hold a lot of promise.

He has created about a 100-vials of the stem-cells that researchers can buy for $500 for use in their study.