The American Institute of Biological Sciences has joined 98 other scientific and medical organizations in endorsing a statement in support of continued use of human fetal tissue (HFT) in research.
The statement reads, in part: “While some have argued that advances in recent years have reduced the need for HFT, it remains a critical resource for biomedical research. HFT has unique and valuable properties that often cannot be replaced by other cell types. Cells from HFT are more flexible and less specialized than cells from adult tissue and can be more readily grown in culture. This is part of the reason why HFT is used to generate vaccines and to study infectious diseases like Covid-19, Zika, HIV, and other viruses. HFT also remains necessary for ongoing research to understand human development and its impact on disease. It is needed to validate model systems to study the progression of diseases and evaluate new therapeutics. Finally, HFT is essential for validating alternative research approaches.”
Stay current on the latest science policy news. Subscribe to our bi-weekly AIBS Public Policy Report.