Executive Summary: There aren’t any.

The first potential alternative is a promising breakthrough in the biotech world of stem cell research with the news that Harvard scientists reported taking skincells to generate embryonic stem cells.

Researcher Kevin Eggan and his colleagues achieved this
dramatic medical advance by fusing individual adult skin cells and bone
cells to embryonic cells.

However Eggan estimates it may be as much as ten years before this method can be used in treatment. His complete report appeared in the journal Science on-line on August 22.

Additionally in a New York Times article, it is reported that scientists would need to uncover how to reprogram the chromosomes of the cell´s nucleus. The fused cells may have twice the number of chromosomes of the original cell, thus the cell may not survive.

This simply doesn’t help in any way with the current requirements of stem cells for treating diseases like Parkinson’s, diabetes, Multiple Sclerosis, heart disease, spinal cord injuries etc.

“We are right where we always were,” said Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, a co-sponsor of the bill with Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., on Monday after having read of the Harvard research.

The second alternative is cordblood-derived-embryonic like stem cells or CBE’s. They are better than adult stem cells but the newfound CBEs are nowhere as versatile as human embryonic stem cells.

In short embryonic stem cells currently do not have any alternatives in treatment of life-threatening diseases.