SSSCR Launches ‘National Student Call-In Day for Cures’ for April 10, 2007

To: POLITICAL EDITORS

Contact: Marion J. Riggs of Student Society for Stem Cell Research, +1-813-368-8937, mjriggs@ssscr.org

WASHINGTON, April 9 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — The Senate will debate and vote on funding research on new stem cell lines this week. On April 10, the Student Society for Stem Cell Research (SSSCR) will launch “National Student Call-In Day for Cures.” Students around the nation will mobilize and speak out for the millions of Americans needing cures and treatments to life’s worst ailments by calling their Senators and urging a “yes” vote on the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act, S. 5, and “no” vote on S. 30.

“Students realize the promise and hope that stem cell research brings to society and patients and the consequence of lost time. Current restrictions on federal funding have long-term consequences for the development of new therapies and training of the next generation of scientists,” said Marion J. Riggs, founder and Executive Director of SSSCR.

Student education and training are greatly affected by the current restrictions for funding of embryonic stem cell research and the next generation of scientists is being discouraged from entering this promising field. The National Institutes of Health is the most powerful vehicle for biomedical discoveries in the world, but over 300 established stem cell lines are not fundable by NIH grants. Opponents of the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act, S. 5, have cited alternative sources for stem cells, but leading scientific opinion does not view these cells as a replacement to the most versatile type of stem cells, embryonic stem cells.

S. 30, the so called “Hope Act”, places restictions on research that would lead to patient-derived stem cell lines genetically matched to the donors and casts an ethical cloud on embryonic stem cell research. It provides “no hope” for patients and fails to address the need for funding for new embryonic stem cell lines.

The Student Society for Stem Cell Research is dedicated to advancing stem cell research for cures through education. The SSSCR network spans over 100 institutions, 35 states, and 15 countries. SSSCR is a member of the Coalition for the Advancement of Medical Research.

For more information or to become involved in stem cell advocacy please visit the Student Society for Stem Cell Research at http:// www.ssscr.org, call 813.368.8937, or email mjriggs@ssscr.org.

SOURCE Student Society for Stem Cell Research

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