Brussels, 14/09/2001 (Agence Europe) - On 18/19 December in Brussels, the European Commission is organising a big conference on 'Stem Cell at European Level' with the aim of launching and provoking an informative pluralist debate between scientists and a broad representation of society at large. All interested parties (specialists in ethics, human sciences, patients' associations, interest groups, students, teachers, media, researchers and doctors) are invited to take part in the conference.
The Commission is currently funding 15 transnational research projects into cell therapy which are being carried out by more than 100 laboratories at a total cost of EUR 27 million. All the researchers are exclusively using stem cells taken from adults, umbilical cord blood or aborted foetuses, in line with the European Ethics Group's recent opinion. Further information can be found at: http: //europa.eu.int/comm/research/quality-of-life.html.