Regenerative Medicine

The use of stem cells for regenerative medicine research is not legal all over the world because of the various ethical controversies regarding embryonic stem cells and their properties. The side effects of not having world-wide influence in regenerative medicine has stunted research growth and has created a knowledge gap from country to country Federal laws regarding regenerative medicine have only put a cap on the possibilities that regenerative medicine research can bring to patients worldwide.  In the United States alone, some states permit the use of stem cells for research and other states ban stem cell research all together. This also applies to the European Union. Sweden, Finland, Belgium, Greece, Britain, Denmark and the Netherlands permit stem cell research but in Germany, Austria, Ireland, Italy, and Portugal it is illegal. On the other side of the world, Japan, India, Iran, Israel, South Korea, China, and Australia are also supportive of stem cell research. Back in the United States, restrictions on the amount of embryonic stem cells used based on the purpose of the research has lowered the amount of research being done. Overall, restrictions set forth by the federal government have regulated almost every aspect of regenerative medicine research, but have effected stem cell research the most.