Stem-Cell Guidelines Are a Good Start

The storm raised by stem-cell scientists about the failure of the National Institutes of Health draft guidelines to grandfather in stem-cell lines already in use is overshadowing other important issues raised by these guidelines ["New Rules on Stem Cells Threaten Current Research," news story, May 25].

The guidelines admirably add certain protections for those who make the difficult decision to donate, for stem-cell research, embryos remaining after in vitro fertilization treatment. Such protections did not appear in the Bush-era guidelines. While the protections complicate the informed-consent process, the grandfathering issue they raise can be remedied by adopting sections of the National Academy of Sciences guidelines addressing it.

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