Embryonic stem cell research could potentially help millions of Americans who have life-threatening diseases and conditions such as cancer, heart disease, diabetes, Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injury, and many others (Feinstein, 2004). However, limitations on the lines of stem cells available for federal funding has strictly limited researchers' ability to help treat these diseases and conditions (Feinstein, 2004). Since this policy was announced in 2001, the number of viable embryonic stem cell lines available to researchers who receive federal funding has been severely reduced.

             According to the Stem Cell Research Foundation (2005), stem cell research may be able to help up to half of all Americans, who suffer from some form of presently incurable disease, injury or birth defect. Some of those conditions include:.

             One million children with juvenile diabetes .

             8.2 million people with cancer .

             58 million with heart disease .

             Four million suffering from Alzheimer's disease .

             10 million with osteoporosis .

             43 million arthritis sufferers .

             250,000 people paralyzed by spinal cord injuries .

             30,000 victims of Lou Gehrig's disease .

             500,000 with Parkinson's disease.

             Scientists believe that stem cell research can be used to develop new therapies and cures for numerous medical conditions, perhaps allowing researchers to remove skin from a patient, grow a genetically identical organ, and transplant it back in (Fox, 2005), or enable a doctor to use the technology to create banks of tissues, organs or cells for near-perfect matches.

             Potential of Stem Cell Research.

             Many recent discoveries show the benefits of both embryonic and adult stem cell research, which is greatly undermined by the potential benefits of embryonic stem cell research but nonetheless highly promising (Wikipedia, 2005). Research shows that injecting adult stem cells into the brains of rats can be successful in treating cancerous tumors.