Fetal kidney cells were used to create the first poliovirus vaccines, which are estimated to have saved more than half a million lives each year since they were first widely available, and no doubt prevented debilitating injuries in millions more.
To create the poliovirus vaccine, medical researchers led by Dr. Jonas Salk used infected fetal kidney cells cultivated in the laboratory and then purified them. The purified cells were then developed into an injected vaccination, helping the body’s immune system fight the polio virus.
The results produced one of the most significant medical breakthroughs in world history. Where once polio was a common childhood disease in the United States, the vaccine developed from those fetal cells helped virtually eliminate it by 1979. The World Health Organization reported less than 500 cases of it in 2013, the last year statistics are available.
Fetal Tissue: On the Front Lines of Medical Breakthroughs
Since the early days of Salk’s research and more recently, fetal tissue has been an integral part of stem cell research for diseases like heart disease, diabetes, Parkinson’s disease, spinal paralysis and more. Researchers are hoping to unlock the mysteries of how and why diseases occur and bring in a new era of medical innovations.
But as with any cutting-edge science, use of fetal tissue is not without its objectors. The samples used in research typically are taken from aborted fetuses or embryos that are not implanted during in-vitro fertilization procedures. Some people feel that human status begins at conception, thus using human beings for experimental procedures is immoral. They have powerful backers in conservative politicians, religious organizations and even some medical professionals, all of whom lobby against the continued use of fetal tissue in research.
In 2009, the National Institutes of Health instituted guidelines for how fetal tissue and embryos could be used in scientific research, revising and renewing regulations that had been on the books from the 1990s, when the United States Department of Health and Human Services issued the first instructions.
The NIH decision has quelled a lot of the outrage at fetal tissue use, but not all of it. The recent controversy over Planned Parenthood allegedly selling embryos revived some of the ire expressed by the religious community and other moral objectors, all of them absolutely against using fetal tissue and embryos for medical research. It is sure that further government revisions will be necessary as research continues in the field.
One of the key issues in fetal tissue research is the matter of consent. Under the current law, a woman must decide to have an abortion before she can be approached about donating aborted tissues for medical research. This rule was instituted to prevent swaying that very private decision and because people with moral objections were concerned that some women would have more abortions because they felt compelled to be fetal tissue donors. The clinics that perform abortions cannot receive payments for fetal tissue donations, except for shipping, as a way to curtail fetal tissue profiteering, and the alleged discussions captured on the video seemed to indicate that payments were, in fact, being delivered to Planned Parenthood.
Even though fetal tissue has long been used in medical research, its use may be curtailed in the future, thanks to breakthroughs in stem cell research. Stem cell technology is increasingly able to regenerate necessary cells and overcome immune system issues caused by adult stem cell donations, thereby obviating the need for more use of fetal tissue. Many of the most common vaccines, such as rubella, shingles and chickenpox, formerly were derived from human fetal tissue. They now are created using animal tissue or fetal cells grown in the laboratory.
In stem cell research, technicians now can reprogram adult skin cells into stem cells. These so-called pluripotent stem cells can then be matched to other cells in the body. They are grown in labs and used in experiments that someday may lead to new therapies for diseases or potentially even regeneration of limbs or the spine.
However, pluripotent cell research is still in its early stages, and it is unclear if the cells will activate in humans or if they generate cells in the parts of the body that they are intended to treat. That means fetal tissue research is still needed.
The Planned Parenthood Setback
That fetal tissue controversy received renewed interest this year when a group opposed to abortion ironically called the Center for Medical Progress released a series of videos. The highly edited videos purportedly showed an undercover “sting” in which Planned Parenthood doctors nonchalantly discussed selling organs harvested from aborted fetuses.
While the allegations in the videos have since been debunked (it would be illegal to trade in such organs -- clinics can merely charge for shipping and cannot profit), the resulting uproar was yet another broadside against medical research using fetal tissue, angering a conservative base that still believes it can roll back use of fetal tissue in medical research. Renewed calls for tighter regulations and incidents like the recent shooting at a Planned Parenthood clinic have resulted.
However, in January 2016, the director of the Center for Medical Progress and an office employee were indicted by a Texas grand jury for tampering with a government record (falsifying driver's licenses), a felony. Director David Daleiden also was indicted for purchasing human organs, a misdemeanor. Grand jurors cleared Planned Parenthood of any wrongdoing.
Why Fetal Tissue?
Researchers favor fetal tissue and embryos for use in research because they adapt more easily to new environments and divide easier than adult cells. Although there have been breakthroughs recently regarding the use of adult cells, there remains much ground to cover before they can fully replace fetal tissues. Thus, there will be a need for the foreseeable future for fetal tissue research.
While stem cell research is ongoing and fetal tissue use decreases, there will still be uses for it in the foreseeable future. That means that responsible clinicians will continue to use fetal tissue in the hopes that their use will provide a medical breakthrough as valuable to mankind as the polio vaccine has been.