Stem cell funding has become a priority for many research institutes, organizations and even governments, if we consider the efforts being made to come up with treatments for all sorts of irrecoverable diseases. The money goes to regenerative medicine institutes that commit to the research in the field of stem cell biology for the purpose of developing cures and viable therapies for the future. Ethical questions and concerns have always been fired on the topic of stem cell research because of the controversy related to the embryos. Pro-lifers are strongly opposing all the lab tests during which embryos die or get discarded.

Some institutes receive more stem cell funding than others, with continuous support from the organizations interested in the development of this part of the medical science. CIRM for instance gives millions of dollars in the form of stem cell funding to Stanford’s Institute for specific projects and clinical studies conducted on a determined period of two or four years. Part of the funding goes for research in the transplantation of stem cells while others in the pioneer treatment of autoimmune diseases such as sclerosis or scleroderma. The National Institute of Health is another important financial supporter of research centers that focus on stem cell biology.

All sorts of smaller associations provide stem cell funding to research centers, and here it suffices to mention the American Cancer Society, the Diabetes Foundation or the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. These groups act in the interest and on behalf of disease-specific groups that would benefit incredibly from the findings and achievements of stem cell therapy. Moreover, it is together with such financial supporters that one institute or another designs clinical trials and group tests for patients declared irrecoverable. For the moment, stem cell research is going through a new phase of development since the American president Barrack Obama raised the ban on this kind of research.

Consequently, we may witness a new wave of stem cell funding in the near future given the boost medical research centers received. How can we explain the huge sums of money necessary for research? Well, like all new technologies that are in the test phase, stem cell biology has lots of challenges and demands. The biological material, the laboratory equipment, the qualified personnel, the special work environment and overall gear necessary for research cost a huge amount of money, and without a serious investment in this research field, development and discoveries would stagnate.