• Question: If you use Embryonic Stem Cells, where do you get them from?

    Asked by jamesfoley to Emma, James, Jayne, Kara, Sharon on 18 Mar 2011 in Categories: .
    • Photo: Sharon Sneddon

      Sharon Sneddon answered on 15 Mar 2011:

      HI James,
      I make and use embryonic stem cells.
      When patients come in for IVF treatment, sometimes there are eggs and embryos that can’t be used for their treatment and would be thrown away. If this happens, the patients are asked if they would consent to the eggs and embryos to be used for research.

      If they say yes to this, then I will give the eggs and embryos some chemicals and drugs to stimulate growth and cell division and put them in my incubator. In about 20% of them, they do start to grow and divide and if they reach 5 days old without arresting (dying) then I can take some very fine needles and under the microscope, remove the inner cells which are the embryonic stem cells. These cells are then put back in the incubator in a special fluid containing sugars and salts and other chemicals and hopefully they continue to grow.

    • Photo: Emma King

      Emma King answered on 18 Mar 2011:

      Hi James, I don’t work in the lab but people who use embryonic stem cells get them from a variety of places. Most of them come from embryos that are donated by couples undergoing IVF in order to try and have a baby. Sometimes they have surplus embryos because they are not very good or they have stored embryos but don’t want to go through another round of IVF. They do not get any money for donating embryos and must do it for the right reasons.
      In the UK we are also allowed to create embryos in the lab, like Sharon explains in her answer above.
      Wherever the embryos come from we are only allowed to use them up to 14 days after fertilisation.

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