Up to a quarter of the Korean population can safely receive locally engineered human embryonic stem cell lines for medical treatment purposes, scientists claimed Monday.
Scientists from the Cha University Research Center in Seoul said screening conducted on 6,740 cord blood samples showed 16-25 percent of all
people in the country may not suffer from any serious side effects if they receive one of the 28 lines of the human embryonic stem cells developed as of 2008.
The team led by Lee Dong-ryul and Chung Hyung-min said the findings published in the online issue of the Cell Transplantation journal can theoretically mean that if 100-160 lines of the embryonic stem cells are created, it is possible for most South Koreans to receive cell-related treatment.
Stem cells have the potential to be made into all kinds of organs and body parts, but because they are not extracted from the person needing
treatment, doctors must check for so-called human leukocyte antigens. This screening process is vital to prevent potential fatal immune responses in the host to an alien cell.
Work to overcome the problem has pushed some scientists to look into the creation of somatic cell nuclear transplanted human embryonic stem cells, which can be given to anybody, but technical barriers and the need to acquire large quantities of human eggs have hindered meaningful progress.
Cha University researchers said that while a considerable amount of research and testing needs to be carried out, the latest findings raises the
possibility of using stem cells for actual treatment of people.
They said that this is possible since identical stem cell lines can be reproduced repeatedly with little negative side effects.