Fetal cells that resemble stem cells have been found in the organs of women after they have given birth, raising the possibility that the cells could be removed and used to treat diseases, according to a study published in the July 7 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, the Boston Globe reports (Goldberg, Boston Globe, 7/7). Researchers obtained tissue samples from 10 women who had given birth to male infants and from 11 women who did not have any prior male pregnancies and examined the samples for fetal microchimeric cells with markers of specific organs in the women's bodies (Khosrotehrani et al., JAMA, 7/7). Researchers found fetal cells that resembled the organs in which they were found -- including the liver, spleen and thyroid -- and were found "disproportionately" in diseased organs, according to the Globe. Dr. Diana Bianchi, chief of medical genetics at Tufts-New England Medical Center and study co-author, said that the findings indicate that the fetal cells could have "some characteristics of stem cells," which can transform into any cell in the body, and were "capable of responding to injury or remodeling the mother's organs." Bianchi said, "If we can prove these are stem cells, and harvest them from the blood and tissue of a woman who's been pregnant, they could have therapeutic potential for that woman, her children, and perhaps even unrelated individuals." Bianchi said that if the cells discovered in the new study are revealed to be stem cells, such a discovery could "affect the national debate" on stem cell research because the cells may be able to be extracted without destroying an embryo, according to the Globe (Goldberg, Boston Globe, 7/7). President Bush in 2001 limited federal funding for embryonic stem cell research. Bush's policy, which he announced on Aug. 9, 2001, limits federally funded embryonic stem cell research to cell lines created on or before that date (Kaiser Daily Reproductive Health Report, 6/29). An accompanying JAMA editorial said that the study provided "novel and exciting" possibilities, concluding, "The time may soon come when the prenatal child heals the mother and perhaps in the far distant future becomes the ultimate health insurance for the whole family" (Boston Globe, 7/7).