Statement on Stem Cells and Cell Therapies for Lung Diseases

DATE APPROVED: June 23, 2012

The American Lung Association strongly supports research to prevent lung disease, and reduce exacerbation of lung disease, discover cures and improve the diagnosis of lung disease. The research should include basic, translational clinical, biomedical, behavioral and environmental areas. In addition, research should investigate measures to eliminate disparities in lung disease morbidity and mortality for low socioeconomic and minority populations. Research should be conducted in a legal, ethical and humane manner.

The American Lung Association supports increased federal funding levels for biomedical, behavioral, epidemiological, environmental and intervention research and research training programs, including but not limited to those conducted by the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Environmental Protection Agency.

The American Lung Association recognizes the critical role animal research has played in making medical advances. The American Lung Association strongly supports full compliance with the existing rules and regulations that assure the humane and compassionate management of laboratory animals. We encourage all forms of biomedical research involving animals that have been carefully scrutinized and deemed worthy by qualified experts, and we oppose all efforts to exclude the use of animals whenever they are essential for research.

The American Lung Association recognizes that research with human stem cells offer significant potential to further our understanding of fundamental lung biology and to develop cell-based therapies to treat lung disease. The American Lung Association supports the responsible pursuit of research involving the use of human stem cells.

The American Lung Association requires that the research it supports follow ethical standards including adherence to all applicable federal, state and local rules and regulations. All relevant Institutional Review Boards (IRB)/Human Subjects Committees should review and approve research proposals involving human subjects. Research involving animal subjects must also undergo committee Institutional Animal Care and Use Care (IACUC) review and approval as well as all other review processes as appropriate for the proposed research. Failure to adhere to such processes should result in termination of research support.

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Statement on Stem Cells and Cell Therapies for Lung Diseases