One of the most successful areas of stem cell research has

been in the generation of blood - including rare blood types

like type O-negative. Above is a high-magnification photo of

type O-negative blood generated from human stem cells.

El Pais, Spain

Stem Cells and Health Care: America's 'Greatest Revolution'

"This measure of Obama's campaign platform is being undertaken as part of his promised reform of the healthcare system - the Achilles heel of the richest nation on Earth. … The U.S. healthcare system is inefficient and expensive. It leaves 47 million unprotected, the equivalent of Spain’s entire population."

EDITORIAL

Translated By Molly Smith

March 10, 2009

Spain - El Pais - Original Article (Spanish)

Reform is not about implementing revolutionary measures slowly, but about approaching urgent matters with a sense of urgency and approaching matters that aren't urgent with a sense of calm. Yesterday, Obama the reformer signed an order lifting the ban of his predecessor George W. Bush on the funding of research into embryonic stem cells - the cells from which any human organ can develop and on which a good measure of the future of medicine hangs.

This measure of Obama's campaign platform is being undertaken as part of his promised reform of the healthcare system - the Achilles heel of the richest nation on Earth. Obama has set an emergency deadline of December this year for the measure to be approved by both Houses of Congress. Obama has shown great determination in presenting his plan barely a month after taking power and in the face of the pressure groups that blocked the Clinton plan in 1993.  

Posted by WORLDMEETS.US

READ ALSO:

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on Stem Cell Funding ... So What About Germany?

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Guardian Unlimited, U.K.: Stem Cells - Welcome Back to the 21st Century, America

El Pais, Spain: Stem Cells and Health Care: America's 'Greatest Revolution'

The U.S. healthcare system is inefficient and expensive. It leaves 47 million unprotected, the equivalent of Spain’s entire population. In the United States, becoming unemployed, retired or watching the company that provided you with private health insurance go bankrupt is synonymous with losing the right to medical care. The public health system protects only the poorest, while private insurers only reach workers with higher incomes. The unemployed, pensioners and workers with low buying power are abandoned to their fate.

A recent survey has shown that the lack of coverage worries many people, but of even more concern is the high cost of this lack of coverage: 16 percent of GDP in contrast to 8 percent in Spain. The president has presented his reform by emphasizing the inescapable necessity of controlling runaway healthcare costs, the highest by far of all OECD countries [Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development].

Contrary to the events of 1993, pressure groups (the pharmaceutical industry, hospitals and private insurance companies, among others) have shown their intention to collaborate. If Obama achieves his purpose, he will have begun one of the greatest revolutions ever undertaken by the United States, as defined by Bill Clinton himself in his day. Achieving universal coverage, which has long been enjoyed by the majority of European countries, has been the dream of generations of Americans.

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[Posted by WORLDMEETS.US March 12, 6:39pm]