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Ethnic Differences in Fertility and Assisted Reproduction: Ethnic Disparity in Stem Cell Availability and Research

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Ethnic Differences in Fertility and Assisted Reproduction

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Abstract

In addition to the great promise for tissue replacement therapies, research on human embryonic stem cells provides insights into developmental mechanism of disease. However, the lack of diversity in pluripotent stem cell lines limits the discovery for the mechanism of diseases with known ethnic disparities. It also reduces the chance for minority groups to be the recipients of stem cell treatments. In this article, we discuss the current status of the racial disparity in available stem cells, including hematopoietic stem cells from both bone marrow and cord blood, as well as pluripotent stem cells. The application of pluripotent stem cells, as tools for investigating the mechanism of racially implicated disease conditions is proposed. We also report the derivation of 12 African-American iPS cell lines as an initial effort to address the disparity in the availability of pluripotent stem cells for minority populations.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, 89 French St. Room 3276, New Brunswick, NJ, 08901, USA

    Chi-Wei Lu Ph.D., Yasunari Seita Ph.D. & Nathan Treff Ph.D.

  2. Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Child Health Institute of New Jersey, UMDNJ-RWJMS, New Brunswick, NJ, USA

    Yasunari Seita Ph.D.

  3. Reproductive Medicine Associates of New Jersey, 140 Allen Rd, Basking Ridge, NJ, 07920, USA

    Nathan Treff Ph.D.

  4. Department of Pharmacology, UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, 675 Hoes Lane, Rm. 636, Piscataway, NJ, 08854, USA

    Monica J. Roth Ph.D.

Authors
  1. Chi-Wei Lu Ph.D.
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  2. Yasunari Seita Ph.D.
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  3. Nathan Treff Ph.D.
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  4. Monica J. Roth Ph.D.
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Chi-Wei Lu Ph.D. .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. , Department of Ob/Gyn, George Washington University, Sunset Hills Road 11150, Reston, 20190, Virginia, USA

    Fady I. Sharara

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Lu, CW., Seita, Y., Treff, N., Roth, M.J. (2013). Ethnic Differences in Fertility and Assisted Reproduction: Ethnic Disparity in Stem Cell Availability and Research. In: Sharara, F. (eds) Ethnic Differences in Fertility and Assisted Reproduction. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-7548-4_17

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-7548-4_17

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