Yet another stunning scientific advance involving stem cells, but again without using human embryos. This time scientists are beginning to learn how to grow new heart valves from cells normally shed by fetuses into amniotic fluid.
The beauty of using these fetal stem cells is that scientists may eventually be able to grow replacement heart valves for unborn babies known to have congenital heart defects, and have the new valves ready to implant in the baby after he or she is born. The heart valves would be perfect matches of living tissue for such babies, avoiding problems of rejection, lack of donors and the like.
It's astonishing what people can do when they set their minds to it -- and without violating the preciousness of human life.
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