A multimillion dollar gift from an Ontario businessman is making the establishment of Canada's first centre dedicated to human embryonic stem cell research possible.
David Braley, owner of the Canadian Football League's B.C. Lions, is contributing $50 million to McMaster University in Hamilton, Ont. -- and $15 million of that money will go towards a stem cell research institute.
The gift will facilitate the efforts of scientists at the Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine into stem cell research and is being welcomed by the medical community.
"I think this gift from Mr. Braley within the Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine... will be part of how we rebuild the region and I think of how we rebuild part of the country's biotech framework," Mick Bhatia of the McMaster Stem Cell and Cancer Research Institute told CTV's Canada AM.
Bhatia will be the scientific director of the centre and will oversee what he calls a stem cell "reference library."
Stem cells have the power to become almost any cell in the body and because of this ability, scientists believe they can help in fighting a number of diseases.
However, while stem cell research in general can potentially yield positive benefits, ethical concerns have circulated around embryonic stem cell research in particular as it can require the destruction of an embryo.
But Bhatia maintains that at least in the initial phases, only embryonic stem cell lines that have already been established will be used in research to alleviate pain for diabetes, spinal cord injuries and Parkinson's disease.
"From the ethical perspective, as a scientist like myself, I feel that with that potential in the wake, it's not unethical not to pursue that avenue," Bhatia said.
Bhatia said that Canadian recommendations on stem cell research limiting it to required consent and embryos marked for disposal will be followed.
As well as earmarking $15 million for the stem cell research centre, Braley's $50 million gift also funds a $25 million research endowment fund and a $10 million family medicine centre at McMaster University.
