A new study from the Mayo Clinic shows that re-engineered, personalized adult stem cells have been used to help repair heart damage that occurs after cardiac arrest. The study is yet another example of successfully using induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS). The iPS cells come directly from the patient, not from human embryos, which are destroyed in embryonic stem-cell research. The heart repair procedure took place on mice, and family advocates commend the research. “One of the things we see with iPS cells is that they don’t have the same immune rejection issues that we see with controversial embryonic stem-cell research,” said Dawn Vargo, bioethics analyst for Focus on the Family Action.
