The WiCell Research Institute, a private, not-for-profit supporting organization to the UW-Madison, is launching its own stem cell bank to distribute cell lines beyond the 21 lines eligible for federal funding and distribution through the National Stem Cell Bank.
“We are establishing the WiCell Bank to grow, test, store and distribute cell lines that the National Stem Cell Bank currently is unable to offer since it is limited to the 21 human embryonic stem cell lines approved for federal funding,” said Erik Forsberg, executive director of the WiCell Research Institute.
WiCell hosts the National Stem Cell Bank for the National Institutes of Health under a federal contract.