On May 9, 2018, three new ISCRM human embryonic stem cell (hESC) lines were accepted onto the NIH Stem Cell Registry. Originated from donated human preimplantation blastocysts, Carol Ware derived the lines in medium that halted development in a preimplantation stage so they maintained a naive character. All three lines have a good karyotype.
The cell lines have been named Elm2 (our first male line), Elf3, and Elf4 (these are female). The lines are listed here: https://grants.nih.gov/stem_cells/registry/current.htm as lines 396, 397, and 398.
Because these lines have been accepted on the NIH Registry, investigators may use NIH funds to study them. Acceptance on the Registry involved an application process in which ISCRM demonstrated that the originating embryos were created for reproductive purposes at a fertility clinic, and were donated to our research by the legal guardians, who no longer needed or wanted the embryos for reproductive purposes.